


Souls Through Time

by Maethoriel_Artemis



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Soulmates, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 85,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25828639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maethoriel_Artemis/pseuds/Maethoriel_Artemis
Summary: The phrase ‘there is someone out there for everyone’ rings true for the Time Lords. That special person is called their Bonded. The Doctor had never met his Bonded and with Gallifrey gone, he never will. Then he meets Melanie and everything changes.
Relationships: 11th Doctor/ Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	1. Eleventh Hour

Running. That’s all she can ever remember. And the terror. The terror as she ran for her life being chased by a man with a wicked looking blade…

Melanie shot up in bed letting out a scream. Immediately, Amy Pond burst into the room. “It’s alright, you just had a nightmare”, the ginger said in a soothing tone, coming to sit by her, taking the shaking woman into her arms.

“That man…” Melanie breathed, trembling, feeling every scar that marked her body burn…reminding her of what he had done…how he had broken her.

“Will never hurt you again”, Amy said gently, running a hand through her hair “he’s locked away for the rest of his life”.

“But it still feels like he’s here. My own personal demon”, Melanie whispered. Amy got off the bed, going over to the desk where a little angel figurine sat. The ginger smiled at the two hearts that had been drawn on its chest. She took it back to the frightened brunette.

“you have your own angel to fight that demon”, Amy said handing it over. Melanie clutched it tightly in her hands “that angel will always watch over you and protect you from all the darkness, past, present and future”

The brunette managed to smile at Amy “thanks”, she said “will you stay with me?”

“Of course. Until you fall asleep”, Amy replied and Melanie laid down, still holding onto the angel figurine. The ginger kept her word and stayed with the brunette until she drifted off.

\---------------

The next day Melanie decided to stay curled up in bed with her books and music. She was actually plugged into her music player that she didn’t even hear Amy’s so called ‘imaginary friend’ breaking into the house. Melanie yelped when Amy touched her on the shoulder. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you but you were so absorbed”, Amy said, apologetically.

“It’s ok”, Melanie said tugging her ear pods out “What’s up?” she asked “you look like you’re going to a job” she nodded to Amy’s policewoman outfit.

“Not quite. Someone just broke into our house”, Amy explained.

“Oh my…” Melanie paled “is he still here?”

“Yes. I knocked him out with a cricket bat and cuffed him to the radiator”, Amy told her. That had Melanie out of bed and went to the doorway, peering out. She saw the unconscious man and he looked rather like those drawings Amy had once shown her. The ones about the Doctor.

“Wait…is that who I think it is?” Melanie questioned.

“Yes, its him”, Amy confirmed.

“Blimey”, Melanie remarked “are you ok?” she asked Amy. She knew how much of an impact the Doctor had on the ginger and what it had done to her life during her childhood.

“Yeah, I am”, Amy answered. 

“And the reason you’re wearing your police uniform is…?” Melanie queried.

“Well it was this or a french maid. And I don’t think I’m going to get any answers out of him as a maid so I went with this” Amy gestured to her outfit “want to help with the questioning?” she asked switching to a British accent.

“I…uh…I-I don’t think so”, Melanie said. Even though Amy had told her about the Doctor, she was still wary of new people. “Sorry”

“It’s ok”, Amy said. She completely understood her reluctance to help. “Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll get you some tea?” Amy suggested.

“That sounds good”, Melanie agreed. The ginger nodded and left the room. Melanie hovered in the doorway, eyeing the Doctor. She bit her lip. She really wished that she could stop feeling so scared all the time. Melanie sighed and disappeared into the safety of her room.

A few minutes later, Amy came back with a mug of tea. “Here you go”, she said handing it over.

“Thanks”, Melanie said taking a sip “mm…love tea”, she mumbled. Tea seems to make almost everything better.

“I’d suggest you stay here until I get answers from the Doctor and then get him out of the house”, Amy said.

“Good idea”, Melanie agreed. She watched her friend leave, pulling the door closed behind her. The brunette went back to sipping her drink. Her eyes flittered over to the angel figurine. She set her drink down and picked up the angel, rubbing her thumb over its twin hearts. Melanie glanced over at the door and took a breath. She can’t be scared forever! With that in mind and the figurine clutched tightly in her hand, the brunette went over to the door easing it open.

“Elle, I thought I told you to stay in the room”, Amy said as her friend joined her.

“I know but I changed my mind”, Melanie said “I’m tired of being scared all the time Ames. So I will stay here, with you and get answers from the Doctor together”. Amy took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Ok”, she agreed.

Melanie glanced over at the Doctor. Now she was out in the hall, she could feel something…strange. It was like this pull, drawing her towards the Time Lord. “How long do you think he’ll be out?” she asked.

Amy shrugged “no clue”, she replied “guess we’ll see when he wakes up”. The two got settled and waited for the Doctor to regain consciousness.

\------------------

The first thing the Doctor heard when he woke was the tweeting of birds. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as his vision was a little blurred from being knocked out. When his vision cleared, his eyes were immediately drawn to one of the two young women that were in front of him. She was a brunette wearing blue jeans, a red top and pink cardigan. As he looked at her, the Doctor could feel gentle tug at his hearts coupled by a slight warmth in his chest. He knew what exactly what that meant which of course made him rather excited. But there was a small voice in the back of his mind that was questioning the sensation his was feeling. He paid no attention to it though, why should he? His Bonded was right there, in front of him!

He knew from lessons at the academy that looking at your Bonded wasn’t enough, you had to touch to form the _actual_ bond. The Doctor vaguely remembered learning of some instances where a Time Lord had found his or her Bonded but for whatever reason refused to form the Bond. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do that, your Bonded was supposed to be your other half. The one who completes you. He for one, promised himself that if he ever found his one that he _was_ going to form the Bond.

When he tried to get up, he found that he couldn’t move due to being cuffed to the radiator. Melanie instinctively moved back and the Doctor noted the wariness in her eyes, she was almost…afraid of him. Which was the last thing he wanted. His Bonded should be protected and loved. Not frightened. “Oi! You, sit still”, Amy spoke up, having heard him move. 

“Why am I restrained?” the Doctor asked, not taking his eyes of his Bonded.

“You were breaking and entering”, the ginger replied, moving to block his view of the brunette.

“Hang on, no, wait. You're a policewoman”, the Time Lord stated, trying to peer at his Bonded but he could see past the uniformed wearing lady.

“And you're breaking and entering. You see how this works?” Amy countered.

“But what are you doing here? Where's Amelia?” the Doctor questioned them both. Amy glanced at Melanie, who looked up at her from staring at the angel figurine in her hands. The brunette shook her head, silently telling the ginger that she wasn’t going to say anything to the Doctor about Amy being the little girl he met all those years ago.

Amy turned back to the Doctor “Amelia Pond?” she asked, pretending to be surprised.

“Yeah, Amelia”, the Time Lord confirmed “Little Scottish girl. Where is she? I promised her five minutes but the engines were phasing. I suppose I must have gone a bit far. Has something happened to her?”

“Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time”, Amy said. Both and Melanie watched him to see his reaction to that lie.

“How long?” the Doctor asked really hoping nothing bad had happened to the little Scottish girl.

“Six months”, Amy answered.

“No. No. No. No! I can't be six months late!” the Time Lord said in disbelief “I said five minutes. I promised” Amy took Melanie’s arm and led her away from the Doctor “What happened to her? What happened to Amelia Pond?” he called after them both but neither responded.

“Sarge, it's me again. Hurry it up”, Amy said into her pretend radio “This guy knows something about Amelia Pond”. As she spoke, the Doctor looked past them to the door that he’d tried to get into before being knocked out. Something about it gave him a very bad feeling.

“Excuse me”, he said but neither women took any notice “excuse me”, he said louder. This time Amy and Melanie took notice, turning around to look at him. “You live here, right?” the Doctor asked Melanie.

“Yes, we both do”, she replied quietly. 

“But she’s the police”, the Doctor pointed out.

“Even the police have to live somewhere”, Melanie countered.

“How many rooms?” the Time Lord suddenly asked, confusing the pair.

“I'm sorry, what?” Amy questioned.

“On this floor. How many rooms on this floor? Count them for me now. Both of you”, the Doctor ordered, the bad feeling he was getting had intensified. 

“Why?” Melanie questioned.

“Because it will change your life”, the Doctor said simply. 

Amy exchanged another look with Melanie, latter seeing an unspoken answer in the former’s eyes. She sighed and counted off the number of rooms, pointing to each of the five doors.

“Six”, the Doctor corrected.

Both Amy and Melanie frowned at that. Amy had lived there for most of her life and she knew that there were only five doors on the first floor. Melanie had lived with Amy for only a few months but she too knew that there was five rooms.

“Six?” Amy repeated, still utterly confused. How the hell can there be an extra room in her house that she didn’t know about?

“Look”, the Doctor said.

“Look where?” Amy questioned.

“Exactly where you don't want to look. Where you never want to look. The corner of your eye. Look behind you”, the Doctor urged.

Both Amy and Melanie slowly turned around, doing a double take when they saw a door, the only door Melanie hadn’t pointed to when she counted off the rooms. “That's…that is not possible. How's that possible?” Amy said, gaping at the door.

“There's a perception filter all-round the door. Sensed it the last time I was here. Should've seen it”, the Doctor explained mentally kicking himself that he didn’t.

“But that's a whole room. That's a whole room I've never even noticed”, Amy breathed.

“Me neither”, Melanie added.

“The filter stops you noticing. Something came a while ago to hide. It's still hiding, and you need to uncuff me now!” He had to get both women out of the house, away from the danger.

“I don't have the key. I lost it”, Amy replied as she slowly started to walk towards the door. Melanie tentatively followed her not wanting the ginger to go into the mystery room on her own. Even though deep down, she didn’t want to go in.

“How can you have lost it?! Stay away from that door!” the Doctor called, his hearts starting to speed up as his Bonded got closer to the door “Do not touch that door!” he shouted as Amy put her hand on the doorknob “Listen to me! Do not open that…” the ginger turned the knob, opening the door “Why does no-one ever listen to me? Do I just have a face that nobody listens to?” Amy and Melanie stepped inside the room “Again…?” the Doctor frantically searched his pockets for his screwdriver, his hearts hammering away in his chest. He had to his Bonded out of that room right now! “My screwdriver, where is it?” he called to the two women, having come up empty in his search of his pockets “Silver thing, blue at the end. Where did it go?”

“There's nothing here”, Amy called back taking in the room. It was dusty with a few old boxes on the floor; spots of water damage on the walls and a table in the middle of the room.

“Whatever's there stopped you seeing the room. What makes you think you could see it? Now please, just get out!” the Doctor pleaded.

“Silver, blue at the end?” Melanie called suddenly spotting it on the table covered in some kind of goo.

“My screwdriver, yeah”, the Doctor called back.

“It's here”, Melanie told him.

“Must have rolled under the door”, the Doctor said, mainly to himself but loud enough so that the pair had heard him inside the room.

“Yeah. Must have”, Amy agreed.

“And then it must have jumped up on the table”, Melanie muttered which the Doctor heard, her words making his hearts stop.

“Get out of there!” the Time Lord shouted.

Amy ignored his shout and reached out for the sonic “Get out!” the Doctor shouted stretching as far as he could with the handcuffs. Amy snatched up the sonic, cringing at the goo it was covered in. They both stiffened when they got the feeling that something was behind them. “What is it? What are you doing?” the Doctor called as neither of them had come out.

“There's nothing here, but…” Amy trailed off

“Corner of your eye”, the Doctor reminded them. Melanie did as he said, just about seeing there _was_ something behind them.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Don't try to see it. If it knows you've seen it, it _will_ kill you” the Doctor warned them, his hearts pounding away in his chest “Don't look at it. Do not…look”.

But Amy and Melanie do exactly just that, screaming as they saw the eel like alien with a mouthful of sharp teeth hanging there.

Upon hearing their screams from out in the corridor, the Doctor’s hearts constricted “Get out!” he yelled. A moment later, both women race out of the room, Melanie slamming the door shut behind her. The Doctor snatched the sonic from Amy and used it on the door’s lock before trying to use it on the handcuffs. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to work on them “What's the bad alien done to you?” he grumbled looking at his beloved sonic.

“Will that door hold it?” Amy asked staring at the door.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, of course. It's an interdimensional multiform from outer space. They're all terrified of wood”, the Doctor said sarcastically.

A bright light flashed around the edges of the door “What's that? What's it doing?” Melanie questioned.

“I don't know. Getting dressed?” the Doctor guessed as he wiped his finger over the sonic to clear off the goo “Run. Just go” he added wanting his Bonded out of the house, away from the danger “Your back up's coming. I'll be fine”.

“There is no back up”, Amy said.

“I heard you on the radio” the Doctor said looking at her surprised “You called for back-up”.

“I was pretending. It's a pretend radio”, Amy told him.

The Doctor frowned “You're a policewoman”.

“She’s a kissogram”, Melanie said taking Amy’s policewoman hat off her head freeing her long ginger hair that had been tucked up under the hat. Suddenly the door to the mystery room falls into the hallway, revealing a workman in overalls holding onto a leash which was attached to the collar of the black dog standing next to him.

“But it's just…” Amy started.

“No, it isn't. Look at the faces”, the Doctor urged.

Melanie and Amy stared at the man as he growled and barked while the dog remained silent. “What?” Amy asked looking down at the Doctor in surprise “I'm sorry, but what?”

“It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two”, the Doctor explained quietly to the women as the man and the dog moved their heads in unison “Clever old multi-form. A bit of a rush job, though” the Doctor raised his voice as he asked “Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?” the man and dog looked straight at the Time Lord “Mind you, where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How did you fix that?”

The multiform didn’t answer, instead it advanced towards the trio “Stay, boy!” the Doctor said sternly and the multiform halted “them and me, we're safe. Want to know why?” the Doctor patted Amy on the feet “She sent for back-up”.

“I didn't send for back-up!” Amy shouted at him.

“I know. That was a clever lie to save our lives” the Doctor said to Amy. To the multiform he said “Okay, yeah, no back up. And that's why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you. If we _had_ back up, you'd have to kill us!”

_Attention, Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded. Attention Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded._

“What's that?” Melanie asked, her voice starting to tremble from fear.

“Well, that would be back up”, the Doctor replied. He heard the fear in her voice and he hated it. He just wanted to take her far away from any danger so that she would be safe and happy. So that she wouldn’t be scared ever again. “Okay, one more time. We do have back up and that's definitely why we're safe”, the Doctor tried again.

_Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated_

“Well, safe apart from, you know, incineration”, he corrected.

The multiform turned and walked into one of the rooms. As the voice repeated its warning, the Doctor bangs the sonic on the floor in an attempt to get it to work. “Work, work, work. C’mon”, he muttered. He continued to bang it on the floor, pressing the button until the tip lit up. The Doctor turned the sonic on the cuffs, freeing himself.

Now that the Time Lord was free, the trio raced down the stairs and out of the house. “Kissogram?” the Doctor asked flashing his sonic on the lock of the backdoor.

“Yes, a kissogram. Work through it”, Amy said angrily.

“Why'd you pretend to be a policewoman?” the Doctor asked her.

“You broke into our house!” Amy exclaimed “It was this or a French maid!” the Doctor walked off, Melanie and Amy following him. “What's going on? Tell me!” The ginger demanded.

“Doctor what is going on?” Melanie asked as they stopped by the TARDIS.

“An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house”, the Doctor replied quickly, very aware that they were _still_ in danger “Any questions?”

“Yes”, Amy and Melanie chorused.

“Me too” the Doctor turned to the TARDIS and tried to put the key in the lock but he couldn’t “No, no, no, no! Don't do that, not now! It's still rebuilding. Not letting us in”.

_Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated_

Amy grabbed the Doctor by the arm and tried to pull him away but he resisted when he noticed the shed. “Hang on. That shed” he ran over to it “I destroyed it last time I was here. Smashed it to pieces”

“So there's a new one”, Amy said.

“We need to go”, Melanie urged. The Doctor heard the urgency in her voice but the shed was bothering him.

“Yeah, but the new one's got old. It's ten years old at least” he sniffed the wood before rubbing his finger along the wood and tasting “Twelve years. I'm not six months late, I'm twelve years late” the Doctor turned and walked back to Amy “You said six months. Why did you say six months?”

“We've got to go”, the ginger said avoiding his question.

“This matters. This is important” the Doctor pressed “Why did you say six months?”

“Why did you say five minutes?!” Amy shouted back, her Scottish accent slipping out in her anger.

The Doctor gaped at her. The ginger in front of him was Amelia Pond, the little Scottish girl he’d met before, now all grown up. “What?”

“Come on”, Amy said.

“What?” the Doctor repeated.

“Come on!” Amy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him by the arm and tugged him towards the side gate, past the multiform that was now standing in the doorway. Melanie hurried after them.

The trio stopped running when they reached a village road, a safe distance away from the house “You're Amelia”, the Doctor stated.

“And you're late”, Amy countered, starting to walk again, pulling Melanie along as she’d grabbed the brunette’s hand. In Melanie’s other hand still clutched the angel figurine tightly. She wasn’t about to let it go, not when it was probably the only thing keeping her from completely freaking out. 

“Amelia Pond. You're the little girl”, the Doctor said, following them.

“I'm Amelia, this is Elle and you're late”, Amy shot back.

“What hap-“the Doctor broke off when he realised that the ginger had just told him his Bonded’s name “Your name’s Elle?” he asked Melanie. It was also then he noticed the scar close to her eye and it looked like there was another on her neck but her hair was partially hiding it so he couldn’t be sure. He felt a surge of anger when he saw them. Someone had hurt his Bonded! It was no wonder that she seemed afraid because some one had done that to her. The moment he could get into his ship, he was going to find the person responsible and make them pay!

“Yes it is”, Melanie confirmed, breaking through his thoughts.

“It’s different” the Doctor remarked, trying to keep his anger at bay. She didn’t deserve it. “but lovely”, he quickly added. Melanie gave him a very small smile.

“I’m glad you like my name though I think you owe my friend here an apology for being 12 years late”, she said.

“She hit me with a cricket bat!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“Twelve years”, Amy reminded him.

“A _cricket_ bat”, the Doctor countered.

“Twelve _years_ and _four_ psychiatrists”, Amy retorted.

“Four?” the Doctor repeated.

“I kept biting them”, Amy admitted.

“Why?” the Doctor questioned.

“They said you weren't real”, Amy replied. 

_Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated_ the voice said again, this time it was coming from the speakers of the nearby ice cream.

“No, no, no, come on…What?” Amy asked staring at the van “We're being staked out by an ice-cream van”. She’d thought they’d left that voice behind at her house along with the multi-form.

The Doctor ran over to the ice cream van, followed by the women. “What's that? Why are you playing that?” he demanded.

“It's supposed to be Claire De Lune”, the bewildered vendor explained. The Doctor picked up the small radio and listened to the voice coming through it as well. As he was doing that Melanie looked around noticing that the voice was also coming through a woman’s mobile phone and a jogger’s mp3 player.

“Doctor, what's happening?” Amy asked taking note of this as well. The Doctor didn’t answer her, he just turned and leapt over a low white into the pretty front garden. Amy and Melanie ran around the front.

“Hello!” the Doctor said cheerfully entering the living room of an elderly lady, Mrs Angelo, who was currently flicking through the tv channels, closely followed by Amy and Melanie “Sorry to burst in. We're doing a special on television faults in this area...” he glanced at Amy’s outfit “Also crimes. Let's have a look” the Doctor took the remote from her.

“I was just about to phone. It's on every channel”, Mrs Angelo said and then noticed the two young women “Oh, hello, Elle”, she greeted. 

“Hi Mrs Angelo. How are you?” Melanie asked.

“I’m fine thank you dear”, Mrs Angelo replied “I didn’t realise you were a policewoman now Amy”, she added nodding to Amy’s outfit.

“Well, sometimes”, Amy said.

“I thought you were a nurse”, Mrs Angelo said remembering the time she saw the ginger dressed as a nurse.

“I can be a nurse”, Amy said with a shrug.

“Or actually a nun?” Mrs Angelo continued.

“I dabble”, Amy said quickly.

“Amy, Elle, who is your friend?” Mrs Angelo questioned, nodding to the Doctor.

“Who's Amy?” the Doctor looked at the ginger “You were Amelia”. 

“Yeah? Now I'm Amy”, Amy said, defensively.

“Amelia Pond was a great name”, the Doctor argued.

“Bit fairy tale”, Amy shot back, using what he said to her about her name all those years ago.

“I know you, don't I? I've seen you somewhere before”, Mrs Angelo spoke up.

“Not me. Brand new face…”, the Doctor said, making a face earning raised eye brows from Melanie “First time on” he turned to Amy “And what sort of job's a kissogram?”

“I go to parties and I kiss people”, Amy cleared her throat “With outfits. It's a laugh”.

“You were a little girl five minutes ago”, the Doctor said in a disapproving tone. 

“You're worse than her aunt”, Melanie mumbled.

“I'm the Doctor. I'm worse than everybody's aunt” the Doctor looked at Mrs Angelo, adding “And that is not how I'm introducing myself” the Time Lord turned his attention to Melanie “please tell me you’re not a kissogram too” the thought of his Bonded going to parties, kissing random guys made him feel rather angry.

“Don’t have a job”, Melanie said, fiddling with the angel figurine in her hands “I-I can’t…”

“You don’t have to say another word”, Amy said softly, putting an arm around her. Mrs Angelo looked at the brunette sympathetically which the Doctor took note of. It seemed that this old lady knew about what happened to his Bonded and it made him feel rather put out. Now he really wanted to know.

But since he wasn’t going to get any answers any time soon, it was best to focus on the current situation at hand. He picked up a radio, using his sonic to go through all the channels, revealing that the voice was being broadcast to the whole world. “Okay, so it's everywhere, in every language”, the Doctor said “They're broadcasting to the whole world”. He went over to the window, opened it up, sticks his head out and looked up at the sky.

“What's up there? What are you looking for?” Amy asked.

The Doctor pulled his head back inside “Okay. Planet this size, two poles, your basic molten core… they're going to need a forty percent fission blast”, he stated. A young man enters the room and the Doctor walked up to him “But they'll have to power up first, won't they? So assuming a medium sized starship, that's twenty minutes. What do you think, twenty minutes? Yeah, twenty minutes” the Doctor turned to the others “We've got twenty minutes”.

“Twenty minutes to what?” Melanie asked before the Doctor could answer her, the young man spoke up.

“Are you the Doctor?”

“He is, isn't he?” Mrs Angelo cheered “He's the Doctor! The Raggedy Doctor. All those cartoons you did when you were little. The Raggedy Doctor. It's him”.

“I know”, Amy whispered slightly embarrassed.

“Cartoons?” the Doctor asked looking at her bemused before going to sit on the sofa.

“Gran, it's him, isn't it? It's really him!” the young man, Jeff exclaimed, excitedly.

“Jeff shush”, Amy hissed, giving an annoyed look “Twenty minutes to what?” she asked the Doctor who was looking at the TV where the alien’s warning was still being played.

“The human residence. They're not talking about your house, they're talking about the planet. Somewhere up there, there's a spaceship, and it's going to incinerate the planet” the Doctor looked at Melanie “Twenty minutes to the end of the world”, he said, gravely.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor walked quickly down the road, Melanie and Amy nearly running to keep up with him. The moment he’d said that there was twenty minutes till the end of the world, he had rushed off “What is this place? Where am I?” he asked.

“Leadworth”, Amy answered.

“Where's the rest of it?” the Time Lord questioned, looking around, taking the village in.

“This is it”, Melanie replied.

“Is there an airport?” the Doctor queried, his mind thinking through possibilities on how he could save the Earth, yet again.

“No”, Amy said.

“A nuclear power station?” the Doctor continued.

“No”, Amy repeated.

“Even a little one?” the Doctor queried. 

“Nope”, Melanie replied “fraid not”.

“Nearest city?” the Doctor asked.

“Gloucester. Half an hour by car”, Amy answered.

“We don't have half an hour”, the Doctor stated “Do we have a car?”

“I’m afraid not”, Melanie said apologetically.

“Well, that's good! Fantastic, that is. Twenty minutes to save the world and I've got a post office. And it's shut!” the Doctor said crossly. With his Bonded’s life on the line, he was feeling a bit on edge. “WHAT is _that_?” he suddenly asked noticing an empty pond and rushing over to it. Melanie and Amy chased after him.

“It's a duck pond”, Amy told him.

The Doctor frowned “then why aren't there any ducks?”

Amy shrugged “I don't know. There's never any ducks”

“Then how do you know it's a duck pond?” the Doctor countered.

“It just is”, Amy stated.

“Is it important, the duck pond?” Melanie questioned wondering what importance a duck pond had to saving the world from incineration.

“I don't know. Why would-“ he broke off with a painful cry, sitting down heavily, clutching his chest. Despite how wary she usually was of new people, Melanie couldn’t help but look at him with concern. “This is too soon” the Doctor groaned, looking up at her “I'm not ready Elle, I'm not done yet”.

The brunette opened her mouth to ask him what that meant when the sky suddenly darkened. They all glance up at it “What's happening?” Amy gasped “Why's it going dark?” the sun reappeared, grey and flickering before turning somewhat close to normal.

“What's wrong with the sun?” Melanie asked.

“Nothing. You're looking at it through a forcefield. They've sealed off your upper atmosphere. Now they're getting ready to boil the planet” the Doctor explained, easing himself to his feet “Oh, and here they come. The human race”, the Doctor grumbled noticing all the villagers who were taking photos of the sun, completely unaware of the impending danger “The end comes, as it was always going to, down a video phone”.

“This isn't real, is it? This is some kind of big wind up”, Amy said.

“Why would we wind you up?” the Doctor asked.

“You told me you had a time machine”, Amy said.

“And you believed me”, the Doctor reminded her. Melanie looked around at the villagers noticing one figure wearing scrubs wasn’t taking photos of the sun. _Hang on that looks like Rory. What is he looking at?_ She moved over to get a better view of what Rory was taking pictures of. Her eyes widened when she just about made out Prisoner Zero, still in the guise of the workman and his dog.

“Then I grew up”, Amy shot back.

Melanie turned to Amy and the Doctor “um…Rory is taking pictures of Prisoner Zero”, she said, pointing at the nurse. The Doctor and Amy followed her finger to see exactly what she’d spotted.

“Good work Elle”, the Doctor said with a grin “shall we go say hi?”

“Sure”, Melanie replied, not returning it. The Doctor didn’t take it to heart though, he had no idea what she’d been through. The Time Lord decided to go talk to Rory, Amy and Melanie following.

“Hey Elle”, Rory greeted, when she and the Doctor came up to him. Amy was lagging behind due to the short skirt she was wearing.

“Hey Rory”, Melanie greeted back with a little warmth in her voice.

“How are you?” Rory asked.

“Fine”, Melanie answered. Rory knew better but he wasn’t going to question her, not with the hell she went through with her uncle.

The Doctor didn’t bother saying ‘hi’, he just snatched Rory’s phone out of his hand. “The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?” he demanded.

Before Rory could reply, Amy ran up, “Amy”, he said.

“Hi”, Amy greeted, breathlessly.

“Man and dog. Why?” the Doctor demanded knowing they were wasting valuable time by chatting. He needed to know why Rory was taking pictures of Prisoner Zero.

“Oh my God, it's him”, Rory said almost gaping at the Doctor when he realised that was who was standing in front of him.

“Just answer his question, please”, Melanie told the nurse seeing that the Doctor was getting annoyed.

“It's him, though. The Doctor. The Raggedy Doctor”, Rory continued. 

“Yeah…he came back”, Amy said.

“But he was a story. He was a game”, Rory insisted.

The Doctor grabbed him by the shirt, just wanting to get some answers. Melanie took a step backwards, rather taken aback by the sudden aggressive move. The Time Lord quickly released Rory, seeing that he’d frightened his Bonded. “Tell me about the man and dog”, he said calmly “why did you take his picture”.

“Sorry. Because he can't be there. Because he's…” Rory started.

“In a hospital, in a coma” the Doctor and Rory said in unison.

“Yeah”, Rory said rather dumbfounded at what had just happened.

“Knew it. Multiform, you see?” The Doctor let’s go of his shirt “Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a life feed. A psychic link with a living” he poked Rory in the forehead “but dormant mind”.

Prisoner Zero barks at them, catching their attention. “Prisoner Zero”, the Doctor said stepping forward.

“What, there's a Prisoner Zero too?” Rory asked Amy.

“Yes”, the ginger replied. There is an electrical buzzing overhead and they all look up to see a star shaped spaceship fly over the green, the eye in the middle, the same eye that they’d seen on Mrs Angelo’s TV, swivelled back and forth.

The Doctor subtly pulled out his sonic from his pocket “See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology. And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver” he held it up above his head and presses the button, turning it on.

Streetlights shatter; car alarms around them started blaring and people starting shouting at the chaos. Melanie jumped back into Rory in fright at the sudden noise, nearly dropping the figurine but somehow managing to hold onto it. Rory and Amy closed around her, offering support as she started to shake.

“I think someone's going to notice, don't you?” the Doctor asked. He pointed his sonic at the red telephone box making it explode. The Time Lord’s plan seemed to be working as the eye started to look over in their direction. But suddenly the sonic sparks, causing the Doctor to drop it “No, no! No, don't do that!” he shouted annoyed that his sonic just had to give out at that moment.

“Look, it's going”, Rory said watching the ship fly away.

The Doctor looked up “No, come back. He's here!” he called “Come back! He's here. Prisoner Zero is here. Come back, he's here! Prisoner Zero is…”

Prisoner Zero turns into a mist and escaped down the drain, unnoticed by everyone except Amy. “Doctor! The drain. It just sort of melted and went down the drain”, she stated. 

“Well, of course it did”, the Doctor muttered, still annoyed over the loss of his sonic.

“So what do we do now?” Amy questioned as they walked over to the drain, Rory holding onto the still trembling brunette.

“Prisoner Zero is hiding in human form so we need to drive it into the open” the Doctor replied “No TARDIS, no screwdriver, seventeen minutes. Come on, think. Think!”

“So that thing, THAT hid in my house for twelve years?” Amy asked as she glanced down the drain.

“Multiforms can live for millennia. Twelve years is a pit-stop”, the Doctor replied, his eyes drifting over to Melanie. It literally hurt him to see her so scared.

“So how come you show up again on the same day that lot do? The same minute!” Amy exclaimed.

“They're looking for him, but they followed me”, the Doctor said “They saw me through the crack, got a fix, they're only late because I am”. 

“What's he on about?” Rory asked confused.

“Nurse boy, give me your phone”, the Doctor demanded.

“How can he be real? He was never real”, Rory insisted.

“You see that he is, Rory”, Melanie said “and he just asked you for his phone” and the nurse complied.

“He was just a game. We were kids. You made me dress up as him”, Rory said to Amy as the Doctor flicked through the photos.

“These photos, they're are all coma patients?” he asked Rory.

“Yeah”, Rory answered.

“No, they're all the multiform” the Time Lord corrected him “Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero”.

“He had a dog, though”, Amy reminded them “There's a dog in a coma?”

Melanie shook her head “there isn’t a dog in a coma”, she said “The patient dreams that he’s walking a dog so Prisoner gets a dog”.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself”, the Doctor said proudly, smiling at her, like before she didn’t return it. He turned to Amy “Laptop! Your friend, what was his name? Not him” he gestured to Rory “the good-looking one”.

“Thanks”, Rory said offended.

“Jeff”, Amy replied quickly. 

“Oh, thanks”, Rory said even more offended that his own girlfriend thought Jeff was better looking than him.

“I think you’re handsome”, Melanie told him.

“Thanks Elle”, Rory said happy with the compliment from his friend. He had no romantic feelings towards her as he was very much in love with Amy. And he knew that Melanie regarded him more as a very good friend or as she once said to him ‘the brother she never had’.

“He had a laptop in his bag”, the Doctor said trying to ignore the flash of jealously he just had “A laptop. Big bag, big laptop. I need Jeff's laptop. Elle you’re with me. You two” he gestured to Rory and Amy “get to the hospital, get everyone out of that ward. Clear the whole floor. Phone us when you're done”.

“I’m going with them”, Melanie said “No offense but I’m not comfortable being alone with you”.

“Oh…ok”, the Doctor said, trying not to feel hurt by what she just said.

“We’ll see you at the hospital”, Amy said, taking Melanie’s hand and leading her away. They clambered into Rory’s car and he drove them to the hospital. However, when they got there, something was going on preventing them from getting through. “So now, what? How are we supposed to clear the floor like the Doctor said?” Amy asked.

“Well, you _are_ wearing a police woman’s uniform”, Melanie pointed out “and you managed to fool the Doctor….”

“Elle you are a genius!” Amy proclaimed. She twisted her hair back into a bun and made her way to the group of nurses. Rory and Melanie watched her briefly talk to them before she came over.

“What did they say?” Rory asked.

“They’re going to let us go onto the floor”, Amy replied “come on”. Rory and Melanie followed her past the other nurses. When they stepped out onto the floor from the lift, they saw it was a complete mess.

The only other people there were there was a mother and her two daughters. “Officer”, she said to Amy.

“What happened?” Amy asked, assuming her ‘role’.

“There was a man. A man with a dog. I think Doctor Ramsden's dead. And the nurses”, the woman explained. With this information, Amy called the Doctor. 

“ _Are you in?”_ the Time Lord questioned.

“Yep”, Amy replied “But so's Prisoner Zero”.

“ _You three need to get out of there”_ , the Doctor ordered “ _it’s not safe_ ”.

“He was so angry”, the mother continued but her voice wasn’t coming out of her mouth, it was coming from one of the girl’s “He kept shouting and shouting. And that dog. The size of that dog. I swear it was rabid. And he just went mad, attacking everyone”. Rory, Amy and Melanie slowly started to back away “Where did he go, did you see? Has he gone? We hid in the ladies…” the voice jumped back to the mother “Oh, I'm getting it wrong again, aren't I? I'm always doing that. So many mouths”. The woman opened her mouth to reveal the sharp needle like teeth that the girls had seen on the creature from mystery room at Amy’s house.

Melanie screamed which the Doctor heard over the phone. _“Amy? Amy, what's happening?”_ he shouted, his hearts hammering in his chest over fear for his Bonded. Amy didn’t answer him as she, Rory and Melanie raced into the ward, slamming the doors shut and barring it with a broom through the handles. _“Amy, talk to me!”_

“We're in the coma ward, but it's here. It's getting in”, Amy said as she, Rory and Melanie moved away from the doors. Melanie flinched at every bang, her grip on the angel figurine so tight that her knuckles were going white.

 _“Which window are you?”_ the Doctor asked.

“What, sorry?” Amy questioned, not having heard him properly.

 _“Which window?”_ the Doctor repeated.

“First floor, on the left, fourth from the end”, Amy replied. Rory pushed Melanie behind him and Amy to his side when the broom suddenly gave way. The mother walked in, holding her daughter’s hands.

“Oh, dear little Amelia Pond”, Prisoner Zero mocked “I've watched you grow up. Twelve years, and you never even knew I was there. Little Amelia Pond, waiting for her magic Doctor to return. But not this time, Amelia”.

Amy’s phone buzzed and she glanced down at it to see it was a text from Rory’s phone.

_DUCK!_

The three of them dropped to the floor and moments later a fire engine’s ladder comes crashing through the window. The Doctor then entered. “Right! Hello. Am I late?” the Doctor glanced at the clock “No, three minutes to go. So still time”.

“Time for what, Time Lord?” the multiform asked.

“Take the disguise off” the Doctor replied walking forward “They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies”. 

“The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire”, Prisoner Zero said.

“Okay. You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again. Just leave”, the Doctor ordered.

“I did not open the crack”, Prisoner Zero said.

“Somebody did”, the Doctor argued.

“The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?” the woman’s voice shifted to the child’s, chanting in a sing song fashion “The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know. Doesn't know!” it switched back to the woman’s voice “The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall”.

Melanie shuddered at those words. _Like that’s not ominous or anything_ she thought.

There was a click, drawing the Doctor’s attention to the clock on the wall. “And we're off! Look at that. Look at that!” he pointed at the clock that now read 0:00 “Yeah, I know, just a clock. Whatever. But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast” Zeros appeared all over Tokyo, Piccadilly Circus and Time Square “The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is Zero. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd probably take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able track a simple old computer virus to its source in, what, under a minute?” the Doctor took Rory’s phone from his pocket, holding it up “The source, by the way, is right here” a bright light shined through the windows “Oh! And I think they just found us!”

“The Atraxi are limited”, Prisoner Zero sneered “While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me”.

“Yeah, but this is the good bit”, the Doctor said starting to grin “I mean, this is my favourite bit. Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you. Every form you've learned to take, right here. Ooo, and being uploaded about now. And the final score is, no TARDIS, no screwdriver, two minutes to spare. Who da man?” the Doctor asked holding his arms out. He looked at Melanie, Amy and Rory none of whom looked at all impressed. “Oh, I'm never saying that again. Fine”, he said, disappointed.

“Then I shall take a new form”, Prisoner Zero declared.

“Oh, stop it. You know you can't. It takes months to form that kind of psychic link”, the Doctor scoffed. 

“And I've had years”. Prisoner Zero glowed and Amy collapsed to the floor.

“Amy!” Melanie exclaimed kneeling beside her as the Doctor rushed over. He dropped to his knees, putting his hands either side of Amy’s face.

“You've got to hold on. Amy? Don't sleep! You've got to stay awake, please”, he pleaded.

Rory looked at Prisoner Zero and was surprised to see that it had taken the form of the Doctor. “Doctor? Elle?” he said getting their attention.

“Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?” the Doctor asked eyeing the alien’s new form.

“It's you”, Melanie replied.

“Me? Is that what I look like?” the Doctor asked surprised.

“You don't know?” Rory asked surprised that he didn’t know what he even looked like.

“Busy day”, the Doctor replied. He stood up and walked over to Prisoner Zero “Why me, though? You're linked with her. Why are you copying me?”

“I'm not” a voice replied as young Amelia stepped out from behind his replica “Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been”. 

“No, she's dreaming about me because she can hear me” the Doctor ran back to Amy, crouching down “Amy, don't just hear me, listen. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see”. 

“We went inside that room, didn’t we Amy?” Melanie added seeing what the Doctor was trying to do “The Doctor tried to stop us but we still went inside” she took her friends hand, picturing the alien they both saw “remember that alien we saw. Remember what it looked like”. 

“Amy…dream about what you saw”, the Doctor urged.

“No…” Prisoner Zero cried “No…no!” it started to glow and transformed into the eel like alien that both Amy and Melanie had seen.

The Doctor smirked, standing up to face Prisoner Zero “Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself”, he said smugly. 

A white light shines through the window, trapping the alien “Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained”, the Atraxi declared.

“Silence, Doctor” Prisoner Zero hissed as it started to fade “Silence will fall”.

There was a whoosh as the ship started to leave. The Doctor ran over to the window and started punching numbers into Rory’s phone. “The sun” Rory glanced out the window seeing it go back to normal “It's back to normal, right? That's…that's good, yeah? That means it's over” Amy started to stir, catching his attention. 

“Ames, you ok?” Melanie asked helping her sit up.

“What happened?” Amy replied, rubbing her head.

“He did it. The Doctor did it”, Rory said happily.

“No, I didn't”, the Doctor corrected him.

“What are you doing?” Melanie asked as she and Rory helped Amy to her feet.

“Tracking the signal back” the Doctor replied. He looked at Rory “Sorry in advance”, he said apologetically.

“About what?” Rory questioned, confused.

“The bill” the Doctor put the phone to his ear “Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article fifty seven of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established level five planet, and you were going to burn it? What…? Did you think no-one was watching? You lot, back here, now!” The Doctor hung up the phone and tossed it to Rory “Okay, now I've done it”.

The Doctor turned and strolled out of the ward. “Did he just bring them back?” Rory asked, as he, Amy and Melanie hurried after him “Did he just save the world from aliens and then bring all the aliens back again?”

“I think he did”, Melanie answered.

“Where are you going?” Amy called to the Doctor.

“The roof” he replied “No, hang on” he veered off course into a changing room. He sifted through clothes in the lockers, tossing aside any items that didn’t appeal to him.

“What's in here?” Amy questioned.

“I'm saving the world”, the Doctor said “I need a decent shirt. To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show!”

“You just summoned aliens back to Earth”, Rory stated “Actual aliens…” the Doctor stripped off his old shirt causing Melanie to turn around “deadly aliens, aliens of death, and now you're taking your clothes off…Amy, he's taking his clothes off” Amy just watched appreciatively.

“Turn your back if it embarrasses you”, the Doctor told Rory simply.

“Actually I have a better idea. Why don’t we wait outside, give the Doctor some privacy”, Melanie suggested. Between herself and Rory, they managed to usher Amy outside, the ginger resisting a little bit.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About ten minutes later the Doctor strolled out on to the roof, having pieced together an outfit from the items in the changing room. “So this was a good idea, was it? They were leaving”, Amy called hanging back with Rory and Melanie while the Doctor walked forward to address the Atraxi that was hovering over the roof.

“Leaving is good. Never coming back is better” the Doctor replied “Come on, then!” he shouted “The Doctor will see you now”.

The eye disconnected from the ship and scanned the Time Lord “You are not of this world”, the Atraxi stated.

“No, but I've put a lot of work into it” the Doctor examined one of the ties around his neck “Oh, hmm, I don't know. What do you think?”

“Is this world important?” the Atraxi asked, not answering his question about the tie.

“Important? What's that mean, important?” the Doctor tossed a tie over his shoulder and Rory just about caught it “Six billion people live here. Is that important? Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?” he tossed another tie over his shoulder and it lands on Amy’s “Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?”

The Atraxi projects a hologram of the Earth with scenes from history “No”, the alien replied.

“Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?” the Doctor questioned. More scenes of the Earth was projected.

“No”, the Atraxi replied again.

“Okay. One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here” as he spoke numerous different aliens appeared one after the other on the projection “Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is…what happened to them?” the projection showed all his incarnations from his first all the way to his tenth. The Doctor stepped through the image of his tenth incarnation “Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically…run!”

The Atraxi ship departed quickly, Amy laughed in delight as they watched it go. Even Melanie was feeling relieved. “Is that it?” Amy questioned “Is that them gone for good? Who were they?” she looked down from the sky when she didn’t get any answer from the Doctor. The Time Lord was gone.

2 years later…

Melanie plucked at one of her guitar’s strings, not really focused on making music. She was too distracted by the dull ache that was in her chest. While she had gotten used to it since it started up a couple of years ago, there were times when it was difficult to think about anything else. She glanced toward the front door when heard the bell rang.

Melanie pulled the door open and gasped when she saw her uncle, Richard Hannigan standing there! She tried to shut the door on him but he just shoved it open. “H-how are you here?” she asked, weakly “y-you’re supposed…”

“to be in prison?” the man smirked at her “I got out early so I could see my precious niece…” he brought out wicked looking knife and before Melanie could do anything, he stabbed her with it “and end her life”. Melanie fell to the floor, gasping. She cried out when he yanked the knife from her stomach. Her uncle leaned over her “goodbye Melanie” he raised the knife to stab her again when he was grabbed from behind and pulled away.

As her vision darkened, Melanie barely made out two people with her uncle. Then she blacked out. “River, take this scum away and have a little fun”, Orion ordered. The curly haired woman smirked.

“With pleasure”, she said and with a flash of light, she vanished. The ginger haired man turned to the unconscious woman.

“You’re going to be ok, I promise”, he quietly assured her, though it was highly unlikely that she heard him. Orion pressed a hand to the wound and it glowed gold as he healed her. He then wiped the blood from his palm with a handkerchief from his pocket. He wished that he could stay with her until Amy got back but he couldn’t as he had something more pressing to deal with. Orion programmed his own time vortex manipulator and he too vanished like River.

When he got to the place River was holding that monster, he saw that she had worked him over good. “Looks like you held back a bit”, Orion remarked.

“I didn’t want to take away all the fun”, River said “besides, Elle is far more important to you”. She held out her gun to him. Orion took it from her, pointed it at Richard and pulled the trigger.

\-------------

“I’m sorry Amy”, Melanie mumbled as she and Amy curled up in her bed, the ginger with her arms around her. She’d woken her friend up screaming from a nightmare of the events earlier that day.

“You don’t need to apologise”, Amy said softly.

“Yes, I do. It’s the night before your wedding”, Melanie said “you should be having dreams of the amazing day to come, not comforting me” she began to tear up “I’m the worst friend in the world”.

“No you are not”, Amy wiped some tears from her cheeks “you never asked for that man to find and hurt you” she plucked the angel figurine from Melanie’s nightstand “I think you need this little guy again”.

Melanie took it from her, hugging it to her chest “thanks Ames”, she sniffled. They then both heard a noise from outside. The pair, got out of bed and looked out of the window to see the blue police box. “He’s back”, Melanie breathed. She didn’t know whether to be happy or wary of that fact. 

“If you want to stay here…” Amy started.

“No, I’ll go with you”, Melanie cut in.

“Alright then”, Amy said. She took her hand and together they walked downstairs and out of the house.

“Sorry about running off earlier”, the Doctor said apologetically, unable to keep the smile off his face when he saw Melanie. Though it faded when he saw the tear stains on her face. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Melanie shook her head, clutching Amy’s hand tighter. She didn’t trust herself to say anything without completely breaking down.

“She’s not feeling very well”, Amy replied “So…you came back then”, she added, quickly changing the subject.

“Course I came back. I always come back. Something wrong with that?” the Doctor asked as they walked towards him.

“And you kept the clothes”, Amy added eyeing his outfit.

The Doctor glanced down at himself then back up to Amy and Melanie “Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me. I kept the clothes”, he sassed. 

“Including the bow tie”, Amy said, raising a brow at the bow tie.

“Yeah, it's cool” the Doctor fiddled with the Bow tie “Bow ties are cool. What do you think?” he asked Melanie. She just shrugged in response.

“Are you from another planet?” Amy suddenly questioned.

“Yeah”, the Doctor replied.

“You’re an alien?” Melanie quietly asked.

The Doctor nodded “I am”, he confirmed “but I’m one of the good ones, trust me”.

“I know”, Melanie said “you did save the world after all”.

“Okay”, Amy and Melanie said together in a tone that seemed like, to the Doctor at least, they’d accepted the fact that he wasn’t human.

“Would you like to check some planets out?” the Doctor offered.

“What does that mean?” Amy asked wondering if by his question, he was asking them to travel with him in the TARDIS.

“It means…well, it means…” the Doctor’s gaze shifted over to Melanie “come with me”.

“I don’t know…” Melanie said. If it was going to be anything like what happened two years ago, then she wasn’t so keen. However, with her uncle showing up and trying to kill her…again…maybe she needed to get away for a bit. And she was pretty sure there was no way that monster would be able to find her if she was no longer on Earth.

“You know, all that stuff that happened. The hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero… all that stuff…” Amy took a step forward, now angry “That was two years ago!”

The Doctor’s eyes widened at that “Oh…Oops”, he said “So that's…”

“Fourteen years!” Amy yelled and the Doctor flinched.

“Fourteen years since fish custard” he glanced at Melanie “two years for you Elle. I think you two have waited long enough”. 

Amy hesitated for a moment “When I was a kid, you said there was a swimming pool and a library, and the swimming pool was IN the library”, the ginger said.

“Yeah”, the Doctor said “Not sure where it's got to now. It'll turn up. So…coming?”

“I’m not sure…maybe”, Melanie mumbled. 

“No”, Amy replied although she sounded rather hesitant. She had been excited about seeing the Doctor again but at the prospect of travelling with him…she was unsure.

“You wanted to come fourteen years ago”, the Doctor reminded her.

“I grew up”, Amy argued.

The Doctor grinned “Don't worry. I'll soon fix that” he snapped his fingers and the door to the TARDIS opened, bathing Amy and Melanie in a warm orange glow. They glanced at him and he nodded, giving them encouragement to go inside.

Amy and Melanie stepped inside, their mouths dropping open at the sheer size of the inside compared to the outside. The Doctor entered the TARDIS, closing the door behind him “Well…? Anything you want to say? Any passing remarks? I've heard them all”. 

He walked up the steps to the console while the two females stayed put, both of them rather overwhelmed by it all. “I'm in my nightie”, Amy breathed unable to come up with anything to say.

“Oh, don't worry. Plenty of clothes in the wardrobe”, the Doctor assured her “And possibly a swimming pool. So…all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will…where do you want to start?”

“You are so sure that we’re coming”, Amy said joining him by the console.

“Yeah, I am”, the Doctor said confidently as he walked around the console.

“Why?” Amy questioned. Melanie slowly backed towards the door, feeling her breathing start to quicken. It was all too much. With Richard stabbing her that morning and now this…she couldn’t handle it. The angel figurine dropped from her hand, landing on the floor with a clatter. Amy and the Doctor ran toward her as the brunette collapsed. “Elle? Elle!” Amy called touching her shoulder “come on, Elle. Come back to us” she placed the angel figurine in her hand, closing her fingers loosely around it “Focus on your guardian angel”, Amy urged.

“Guardian angel?” the Doctor asked.

“It’s this little angel figurine. Elle holds it whenever she has nightmares or in a stressful situation”, Amy explained “the angel fights away her demons and watches over her”. The Doctor couldn’t help but think that could be him. As Melanie’s Bonded it was his job to look after her…to protect her… and he was going to be damned if he was going to let anything happen to her, starting from now.

“Amy…” Melanie mumbled, her hand tightening around the angel.

“I’m here”, Amy said.

“I’m sorry”, the brunette whispered, opening her eyes “it’s was too much”.

“Don’t worry about it”, the Doctor said “it is a lot to take in at once”. Without thinking he held his out to her and Melanie took it. The second their hands touched, they received a shock which made them both gasp. Green eyes stared into brown as the pair felt a warmth rush through their bodies and everything seemed to fall away. No Amy. No TARDIS. Just the Doctor and Melanie.

It took Amy clearing her throat to break them out of it. Very reluctantly, the Doctor moved back from Melanie, letting go of her hand. Almost immediately his fingers ached at the loss. He wanted to hold her hand again as soon as possible.

The ginger looked at them confused, unsure to what had just happened. “Elle, are ok?” she asked her friend.

“Yeah, fine”, Melanie replied. She felt surprisingly good for once which was a really strange feeling. Honesty, she hoped it would hang around for a while as it had been so long since she’d been happy. “If I went with you, it’s unlikely that…anyone could find me, right?”

“Very”, the Doctor answered “why, is there someone you’re hiding from?”

“You could say that”, Melanie admitted. It wasn’t quite the answer the Doctor had been hoping for but it was a start at least. Maybe with time, she’d be able to fully open up to him.

“Then I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe”, he promised.

Melanie gave him a small smile “Thanks”, she said.

“Can you get us back for tomorrow morning?” Amy suddenly challenged. If Melanie wanted to go with the Doctor, she was going to have to come along too. Just to make sure that she does stay safe.

“It's a time machine”, the Doctor “I can get you back five minutes ago. Why, what's tomorrow?”

“Nothing. Nothing”, Amy said quickly “Just you know, stuff”. 

“All right, then. Back in time for stuff”, the Doctor said. A new sonic popped up from the console’s surface “Oh! A new one!” he said delighted, picking it up and trying it out “Lovely” he pocketed the sonic and patted the console “Thanks, dear” he turned to the pair “So, are you both really okay, then?” he asked “Because this place, sometimes it can make people feel a bit…you know”.

“Still a bit much”, Melanie confessed “but I think I could get used to it”. The Doctor smiled at that.

“I'm fine”, Amy answered “It's just…there's a whole world in here, just like you said. It's all true. I thought. Well…I started to think that maybe you were just like a madman with a box”.

“Amy Pond, there's something you'd better understand about me, because it's important, and one day your life may depend on it” the Doctor told her seriously before brightening “I am definitely a madman with a box. Ha ha! Yeah” Amy laughed and even Melanie let out a short giggle which made the Doctor really happy “Goodbye Leadworth, hello everything!”

The Doctor pulled a lever causing them to quickly grab hold of the console as the TARDIS jolted. As he held onto the console, a grin crept onto his face. He was off travelling through Time and Space with his Bonded! And as his Ninth self would say, FANTASTIC!

**AN: Orion Hanson belongs to SaberbladePrime. His outfit can be found on SaberbladePrime’s Pinterest page.**

**To get to the page, 'SaberbladePrime pinterest' into the search bar and pick the first link that comes up.**

**Click the tab on the Pinterest profile that says Polyvore pics and you will find the outfit for the Oc inside.**


	2. The Beast Below

Melanie watched Amy floating in space with the Doctor holding onto her ankle. The ginger didn’t believe the Doctor that they were in space so he’d actually pushed her out of the door! After a few minutes of Amy floating in space, the Doctor pulled her back inside. “Now do you believe me?”

“Okay, your box is a spaceship”, Amy said now finally believing him “It's really, really a spaceship. We are in space!” Amy laughed in delight, while Melanie smiled. The ginger took a breath “what are we breathing?”

“I've extended the air shell” the Doctor assured her “We're fine”.

Melanie looked down surprised to see what appeared to be a large city drifting past underneath them “that’s interesting”, she remarked getting the attention of the other two.

“Twenty ninth century”, the Doctor said, squatting down and examining the ‘city’ “Solar flares roast the earth” he stood up and ran over to the console, Melanie following him “and the entire human race packs its bags” he started working at the controls “and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations…”

“Doctor? Elle?” Amy called as she floated out of the TARDIS, quickly grabbing onto the roof of the box but neither of them heard her.

“…Migrating to the stars”

“Doctor? Elle?” Amy called louder. This time Melanie heard her. She looked around and frowned when she didn’t see her friend anywhere.

“Ames?” she called “where are you?”

“Out here!” Amy shouted from the open doorway. Melanie ran over to the doorway and found her clinging tightly onto the roof. She reached out a hand to her friend who grabbed it and pulled her inside, closing the doors afterwards.

A moment later the Doctor, Melanie and Amy were looking at a close up of the ‘city’/ship on the large round monitor on the TARDIS’ wall “This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. All of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal” the Doctor explained “That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and…shopping” Amy and Melanie chuckled at that “Searching the stars for a new home”

“It’s brilliant. The ingenuity of the human race”, Melanie said feeling fairly proud as she looked at Starship UK.

“Can we go out and see?” Amy asked excited at the prospect of exploring another spaceship.

“Course we can but first, there's a thing”, the Doctor said seriously going over to the console.

“A thing?” Amy frowned.

“An important thing”, the Doctor said “In fact, thing one” he pulled out a magnifying glass and looked at the women through it “We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets”. _Why do I get the feeling that’s not the case?_ Melanie thought “Ooh! That’s interesting”, the Doctor remarked seeing the image on the scanner of a little girl sitting alone crying. The women turned to look at the screen, Melanie’s heart going out for the girl.

“So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah?” Amy asked, neither woman noticing that the Doctor had slipped out of the TARDIS “Because if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it, they've got to keep filming and let it die” Amy frowned watching the girl sob “It's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that”

“Neither could I”, Melanie said quietly, her hand closing around the figurine. Amy glanced at her sympathetically and put her arm around the young woman, knowing where her mind had gone to as she watched the girl cry.

Suddenly the Doctor appeared on the screen spoke to the girl for a moment before she got up and ran away. The Time Lord looked at the camera and waved at them to come and join him. Amy glanced at Melanie wondering if she was going to be ok. “I’ll be fine Amy”, the brunette assured her. Amy nodded but made a note to keep a close eye on her, just in case she got lost in her past again.

 _Welcome to London Market. You are being monitored_ the Tannoy announced as the women stepped out of the TARDIS.

“Wow”, Melanie breathed as she and Amy looked around in amazement, seeing stars through the arched glass ceiling. The market stretched before them, numerous stalls and booths dotted about with vendors selling their wares.

“You said it Elle”, Amy agreed taking another look around “we’re in the future. Like hundreds of years in the future” she then realised something “we've been dead for centuries”

“Thanks Amy, I wasn’t thinking about that but now I am”, Melanie said giving her a look as the Doctor came over to them.

“Sorry. It just occurred to me”, Amy said apologetically.

“Never mind dead. Look at this place. Isn't it wrong?” the Doctor asked, gesturing around.

“What's wrong?” Amy asked. She hadn’t seen anything that looked obviously wrong to her. The Doctor went to take Melanie’s hand but the brunette shook her head and grasped Amy’s instead. The Time Lord was disappointed but understood. She had been through a lot, whatever it was so he knew it was going to take some time before she grew comfortable around him that they could hold hands.

He hoped it wasn’t going to be long before that happened since they’d formed the Bond, albeit accidently. Every fibre of his being was urging him to be as close to her as possible but given the way his Bonded was, he was going to have to curb those impulses as best as he could. “Come on, use your eyes. Notice everything” the Doctor urged “What's wrong with this picture?”

Melanie looked around but she still couldn’t see anything wrong. Then again she had no idea what was classed as ‘right’ on a spaceship. “Is it…the bicycles?” Amy questioned pointing to a rickshaw as it passed by “Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles”. 

“Says the girl in the nightie”, the Doctor countered.

“Oh my God!” Amy gasped as though she just remembered what she was wearing “I'm in my nightie” she looked at Melanie “and you’re in Pyjamas”.

“Well we did just run away in the middle of the _night_ ”, Melanie reminded her, not really fazed about wandering around in her pyjamas, it wasn’t like they stood out or anything. They were just a simple pair of pink and blue checkered trousers coupled with a pink vest. Her robe wasn’t exactly bold either, it was a pale blue. Besides no one was giving her funny looks about her outfit.

“Now, come on, look around you” the Doctor pressed “Actually _look_ ”. 

_London Market is a crime-free zone_ the tannoy announced.

 _Nothing is ever crime free_ Melanie thought glancing around once more. She still couldn’t see anything wrong, but the ground where she was standing didn’t feel right. No vibrations. On a ship this size she _should_ have felt them even through her slippers.

“Life on a giant starship, back to basics” the Doctor sighed “Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me” the Doctor ran over to a table and picked up a glass of water, setting it on the floor. The Time Lord stared at the water intently, noting how the water was far too still. He put the glass back onto the table “Sorry”, he said looking at the people sitting there “Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish” he tapped the side of his nose before he walked back to Melanie and Amy “Where was I?” he asked them.

“Why did you just do that with the water?” Amy questioned, confused. Melanie would like to know that too as she was also just as lost as her friend was.

“Don't know” the Doctor replied “I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state. Do two you see it yet?”

“Where?” Amy looked around, still not seeing what was wrong.

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed “There”, he said. Amy and Melanie followed his gaze over to a couple of benches. On one of them was the girl they’d seen earlier, still crying. The trio walked over to a bench and sat down, watching the girl.

“One little girl crying”, Amy stated “So?” She didn’t mean for it to sound heartless or anything, seeing a child cry was awful but she didn’t see what was wrong with that. Children cry all the time.

“Crying silently”, the Doctor corrected her “I mean, children cry because they want attention, because they're hurt or afraid. But when they cry silently…”

“It’s because they just can't stop”, Melanie finished, her hand slipping into her pocket, grasping the figurine tightly. _Don’t even think about it. Focus on the here and now_ she thought firmly. She wasn’t going to get lost in her past. Not here. Not now. Even as she was trying to stay firmly in the present, her mind still drifted back, dredging up those dark memories. Amy glanced at Melanie and upon seeing the all too familiar look on her face, she took her arm, got up and led her away from the crying girl.

The Doctor watched them go, his face full of concern for his Bonded. He’d heard the tone in her voice when she spoke as if she understood why the girl, Mandy according to her wallet that he’d taken from her, was crying silently, like she had experience with doing the exact same thing. He watched them from the bench, Amy speaking to Melanie as she held her hand, the brunette nodding along. His hearts broke seeing the look of Melanie’s face, like she was struggling to keep it together.

It made him angry to see how much the young woman was still suffering. His hands curled into fists, the Oncoming Storm rising to the surface as he thought about making the one responsible pay for what he or she had done. He didn’t know how yet but he was going to find out who hurt her and make them suffer…show them why he was given the moniker Oncoming Storm.

The Doctor debated whether he should go over or not, see if there wasn’t anything he could do to comfort the brunette. After a moment of deliberating, he decided that yes was he going to join the females. The Time Lord had started to get up when he noticed Mandy get up after a lift pinged. As she walked away, a smiling figure in a booth turned its head which the Doctor took note of. 

“Where'd she go?” Amy asked as she and a now much calmer Melanie walked over to him.

“Deck two oh seven. Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A” the Doctor replied turning to them “You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh…” he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a colourful wallet “this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her” the Doctor handed the wallet to Amy “Took me four goes”, he admitted “Ask her about those things. The smiling fellows in the booths” he nodded at one “They're everywhere”.

“But they're just things”, Amy said, not seeing the significance of them.

“They're clean” the Doctor pointed out “Everything else here is all battered and filthy. Look at this place” now that the Time Lord had said that, Melanie could see the difference between the booths and the rest of the place. She hadn’t noticed that before he pointed it out “But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Look. Ask Mandy, ‘why are people scared of the things in the booths?’”

“No, hang on. What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and Elle and I not even dressed”, the ginger hissed at him. 

“It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?” the Doctor challenged. An expression flickered across Amy’s face and he knew that she’d decided to go find Mandy “Ha ha, gotcha. Meet me and Elle back here in half an hour” he turned to his Bonded “unless you’d rather go with Amy, Elle”.

“I…I think I’ll go with you Doctor”, Melanie said, surprising Amy. The Time Lord hadn’t done anything to hurt her so she was going to give him a chance. Plus it would give her an opportunity to be around someone new without having Amy around. Also she could see the sincerity and concern in the Doctor’s eyes, something she had only ever seen in her friend’s ones.

“You sure Elle?” Amy asked. She was happy that Melanie wanted to go with the Doctor but she felt a little unsure about being away from the brunette.

“I’ll be fine Amy, I promise”, Melanie assured her.

The ginger nodded “All right”, she said and turned to the Doctor “So what are you to going to do?”

“What I always do. Stay out of trouble”, the Doctor replied.

“So is this how it works, Doctor?” Amy questioned “You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?”

“Yes”, the Doctor said simply. He went to take Melanie’s hand for the second time but he again he stopped himself. Instead he gestured in the direction they were going to go in.

“I’m sorry if I worried you earlier”, the young woman apologised as they walked “seeing Mandy upset brought back a few… unpleasant things”.

The Doctor stopped walking and turned to her “I’m not going ask you to talk about it”, he assured her, although he really wanted to know “but if or when you do decide you want to talk, I’ll be there to listen, ok?”

“Thank you” Melanie was glad that he wasn’t going to push her to talk about it. She was also grateful that he offered to listen when she was ready to open up, just like Amy and Rory…and of course Mels whenever she wasn’t in prison.

\----------------

The Doctor climbed down the ladder into a maintenance corridor first, closely followed by Melanie. The Time Lord felt along the walls before leaning in to listen “Can't be”, he said stepping back “Elle have a feel”.

Melanie placed her hands on the wall and felt nothing. Not a single vibration “Nothing” she took her hands away “This ship is huge, we _should_ have felt the vibrations from the engines. But there’s nothing”. 

The Doctor opened up a power box and exchanged a look with the brunette when they saw the couplings inside weren’t connected “They’re fake. What is going on?” she asked picking one up. The Time Lord crossed over to the opposite wall and knocked on it, frowning when it sounded hollow.

“It’s hollow”, the Doctor stated “There’s nothing behind it” his eyes widened when it hit him “there’s no engine”.

Melanie did a double take at that “hang on, no engine? How can there be no engine?” she questioned.

The Doctor turned to her “think about it Elle. No vibrations”, he said “Fake power couplings. Nothing behind this wall”. He watched as a look of realisation appeared on Melanie’s face as she realised he was right.

“But we saw the ship moving through space”, the brunette said, frowning in confusion “How can it move without an engine?”

“It’s the impossible truth” a female’s voice whispered behind them. The Doctor and Melanie turned around to see a woman wearing a long red cloak and a white mask. The Time Lord shifted slightly in front of Melanie in case this woman was a threat to his Bonded. “We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly”.

“How?” the Doctor asked, feeling the young woman grasping at the back of his jacket, trembling. He reached back, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. The Time Lord felt his Bonded grasp his hand tightly and barely suppressed a smile at this as it was hardly the time to be happy when there was this strange woman in front of them which he still didn’t know if she was a threat to Melanie. 

“I don't know”, the woman admitted “There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor. You're our only hope” she tossed the Doctor a device which he caught easily “Your friend is safe. This will take you to her. Now go, quickly!” she turned on her heel and walked away.

“Who are you?” the Doctor called after her “How do I find you again?”

The woman turned back to them “I am Liz Ten, and I will find you”, she replied. There was a crashing sound which caught the attention of the Doctor and Melanie. When they looked back at the masked woman, she’d gone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melanie and the Doctor ran through the ship following the device. It led them to a door marked ‘occupied’ where Mandy was pacing. The Doctor flashed his sonic at the door and it slid open. They stepped in to see a recording of Amy on the screens set up before a chair.

“Ames?” Melanie asked noticing that Amy had been crying. Amy quickly turned the screens off.

“What have you done?” the Doctor asked her.

“I don’t know”, she admitted. Melanie frowned at that _how could she not know what she did?_ It seemed that the Doctor had a similar thought as he hopped onto the chair scanning the lamp above it with his sonic.

“Your basic memory wipe job” the Doctor told Amy “Must have erased about twenty minutes” he jumped down from the chair.

“But why would I choose to forget?” Amy frowned confused.

“Because everyone does. Everyone chooses the Forget button”, Mandy said from the doorway.

“Did you?” the Doctor asked, turning to the girl.

“She looks too young to be able to vote”, Melanie said looking the girl over. She looked in her opinion twelve or thirteen.

“She’s right. I’m only twelve. Any time after you're sixteen, you're allowed to the see the film and make your choice. And then once every five years…” Mandy explained.

“And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned” the Doctor nodded, following along “Democracy in action”.

“How do you not know about this? Are you Scottish too?” Mandy asked eyeing the Doctor.

“Oh, I'm way worse than Scottish. I can't even see the movie. Won't play for me”, the Time Lord replied. On the way to track down Amy, they’d stopped by a voting booth to have a look at what it was all about. The Doctor didn’t let Melanie have a try but assumed it would play for her as she was human. Though now she was Bonded to him, he didn’t know if that meant she’d stay human or if she’d would be changed to be like him. Guess time will tell.

“It played for me”, Amy pointed out.

“The difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human”, the Doctor told her.

“Why not? You look human”, the ginger argued.

“Actually we look Time Lord”, Melanie corrected her. Out of curiosity, she’d asked the Doctor the name of his species after they found out the video wouldn’t play for him due to being an alien.

“We came first”, the Doctor added.

“So there are other Time Lords, yeah?” Amy asked excitedly.

“No” the Doctor replied. It was still hard for him to talk about the war “There were, but there aren't….just me now. Long story. There was a bad day. Bad stuff happened” Melanie brushed the back of her hand against his, knowing what it was like to have a nightmarish past “And you know what? I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever. Because this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government”. With that declaration, he hit the ‘protest’ button. The door slammed shut, leaving Mandy outside as the smiling figure in the booth at the back of the room turned its head to reveal an angry face. The Doctor pulled both women into the corner as the floor started to slide open.

“Say, ‘Wheee’!” the Doctor yelled. Amy and Melanie screamed as all three of them fell down the chute.

“Oh, gross!” Melanie exclaimed when the trio landed in what she could only describe as stinky gunk.

“High speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel”, the Doctor said standing up, sliding a little on the slippery surface.

“Where are we?” Amy asked standing up, with Melanie‘s help.

“Six hundred feet down, twenty miles laterally” the Doctor said flashing his sonic around “puts us at the heart of the ship” he took a breath “I'd say Lancashire” What's this then, a cave? Can't be a cave” he said continuing to flash his sonic around “Looks like a cave”. 

“It's a rubbish dump, and its minging!” Amy exclaimed picking a bit of waste off her shoulder.

“I’m going to be showering for a week after this”, Melanie remarked wrinkling her nose at the smell. First trip with the Doctor and they end up in the rubbish dump of a spaceship. Lovely.

“Its only food refuse”, the Doctor said sniffing.

“Yeah that makes me feel loads better. I’m only covered in food leftovers”, Melanie grumbled.

“Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship”, the Doctor continued looking around at the number of tubes he could see.

“The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed”, Amy commented as she knelt down to feel the floor. Melanie shook her head at her wondering how she could even put her hands in the gunk. Granted they were covered in it but still… gross.

“But feeding what, though?” the Time Lord carried on as if she hadn’t spoken.

“It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy”, Amy remarked. There was a distant moaning behind them. Melanie and the Doctor spun towards it, the latter just realising exactly where they are.

“Uh…Amy that’s not a floor”, he said “it's a….” the Doctor put his sonic away “So…”

“It's a what?” Amy asked standing up, both she and Melanie looking at him worriedly.

“The next word is kind of a scary word” the Doctor said carefully knowing that they were both going to freak out over where they were “You two probably want to take a moment, get yourself in a calm place. Go ‘omm’”.

“Omm” Amy and Melanie hummed.

“It's a tongue”, the Doctor said quickly.

“A tongue?” Amy repeated.

“A tongue. A great big tongue” the Time Lord excitedly.

“This is a mouth” Amy said stunned while Melanie stared at him, mouth slightly gaping at the shock of that revelation “This whole place is a mouth? We're in a mouth?”

“How can you be so delighted? We’re in a frigging mouth!” Melanie exclaimed.

“But on the plus side, roomy”, the Doctor countered.

“Oh that’s alright then. We’re just stuck in the mouth of a beastie but not to worry because it’s roomy” Melanie said crossly flinging a bit of rubbish that was stuck to her shoulder at the Doctor “way to make us feel better”.

“Doctor, how do we get out?” Amy asked as the Doctor picked the piece of rubbish Melanie threw at him from where it landed on his jacket.

“Okay, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes” the Doctor said flashing his sonic around “so the normal entrance is…” he turned to see the row of sharp teeth, closed “closed for business”

“We could try, though”, Amy suggested stepping forward.

“No! Stop, don't move!” the Doctor shouted as the mouth heaved in agitation “Too late. It's started”.

“What has?” Melanie asked, her anger of being stuck in a mouth, turning to worry.

“Swallow reflex”, the Doctor replied as the tongue moved underneath them, causing the trio to slip and fall backwards into the refuse. The Doctor scrambled to his feet sonicing the walls frantically.

“What are you doing?” Amy shouted as she struggled to get to her feet, Melanie having the same trouble. 

“I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors”, the Doctor answered. 

Melanie’s eyes widened at that word. She vaguely remembered it from a biology lesson at college. “You’re completely mad!” she cried.

“Well I _am_ a mad man with a box”, the Doctor stated simply.

“Elle, what’s he doing?” Amy asked just about getting to her feet. It seemed Melanie knew exactly what the Doctor was up to. Melanie opened her mouth to answer her when a wave of bile rolled towards them.

“Right, then” the Doctor said straightening his bow tie and then taking Melanie’s hand “This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!”

Amy and Melanie screamed again as the wave of bile crashed over them.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor was the first to come to in the overspill pipe. As Melanie was his Bonded, he checked her over first. The Time Lord let out a sigh of relief when the result on his sonic told him that she was perfectly fine. No broken bones and no sign of concussion. “Sorry Elle”, he said softly touching her cheek. Some Bonded he was, barely had few hours with her and he’d already gotten her knocked out. He really hoped that this wasn’t going to be what drives Melanie away. His hearts seized at the thought of her leaving.

The Doctor shoved those thoughts out of his head. _No, don’t think about it!_ he mentally scolded _this was the only way to escape, she wont blame you_. He really, really hoped she wouldn’t. with that in mind, moved to Amy and scanned her as well. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt either.

The Doctor went over to the door, examining it. When the women eventually stirred, he glanced back at them “There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, you are covered in sick”, he said before either could ask him those questions.

“Where are we?” Amy asked sitting up.

“Overspill pipe, at a guess”, the Doctor replied.

“Oh, God, it stinks”, the ginger said as she caught a whiff of a horrible smell as she stood up.

“Amy that’s not the pipe, that’s us”, Melanie told her as she got to her feet.

“Oh” Amy smelled herself “Phew. Can we get out?”

“One door, one door switch, one condition” the Doctor moved to show the button on the door. It was a ‘forget’ button “We forget everything we saw. Look familiar? That's the carrot” the lights come on to reveal two smiling figures “Ooo, here's the stick” he walked toward the booths “There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?” the faces turn to show a mad expression “No, that's not going to work on us, so come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?” the faces turn to so very angry expression “Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting, and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues, huh?” he challenged.

“You just had to say something didn’t you?” Melanie asked as she, Amy and the Doctor backed away as the smiling figures stood up and walked out of the booths. The Time Lord pulled both women behind him as the figures advanced. Suddenly the door opened behind them and Liz Ten stepped in, shooting both smiling figures. “Look who it is” the Doctor grinned as the woman holstered her guns “You look a lot better without your mask”.

“You must be Amy” Liz Ten said, finally seeing the ginger haired woman and stuck her hand out “Liz. Liz Ten”.

“Hi”, Amy said, shaking it.

“Eugh” Liz Ten wiped her hand on her cloak “Yuck. Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick” she headed to the door where Mandy was waiting “You know Mandy, yeah?” she put her arm around the girl “She's very brave”

“How did you find us?” Melanie asked.

“Stuck my gizmo on the Doctor” Liz Ten nodded to the Time Lord “Been listening in” she looked at the brunette woman “Lovely name by the way Elle”.

“Thanks”, Melanie said.

“Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?” Liz Ten asked.

“You're over sixteen, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it”, the Doctor replied.

“No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject”, Liz Ten corrected him.

At that the Doctor shifted in front of Melanie again “Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?” he asked tensing.

“It’s alright, I’m not a threat” Liz assured him taking notice of how he protected the brunette woman from her for the second time “You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot…” the Doctor points like he’s about to argue but then ran a hand through his soaked hair instead “I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was”.

“Your family?” the Doctor frowned.

Liz Ten noticed one of the smiling figures start to twitch “They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move”, she said. Then she and the three time travellers left the overspill. As they walked along one of the lower corridors of the ship Liz Ten explained the connection the Time Lord had with different members of her family “The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled you on the same day. And let’s not forget the virgin queen” Liz Ten looked at the Doctor with a smirk “you bad, bad boy!”

The Time Lord had no idea where Liz Ten had gotten that from but he never, ever had a thing that particular monarch and he needed Melanie to know it. “I didn’t do anything with her”, the Doctor insisted, looking to his Bonded, hearts pounding in his chest “honest!”

“Um…ok”, Melanie said, slowly, rather confused by his sudden shift in behaviour. Why would it matter to her whether he’d been with a particular Queen? What he got up to before they met was none of her business.

“Liz Ten?” the Doctor suddenly said starting to realise _who_ she was. It was really the mention of Queen Victoria that had tipped him of as to Liz Ten’s identity.

“Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!” Liz spun around with both guns in her hands, the trio ducking down just before she fired at the two smiling figures that had pursued them “I'm the bloody Queen, mate” Liz Ten holstered her guns “Basically, I rule”.

“I have to agree with you there”, Melanie agreed.

“Thanks Elle”, Liz Ten said. She then led them along another corridor towards a lift “There's a high-speed Vator through there…” the Doctor looked into the caged area where there were two tentacles smacking against the bars “Oh, yeah. There's these things. Any ideas?”

“I saw one of these up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through like a root”, Amy told them.

“Exactly like a root. It's all one creature, the same one we were inside, reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship”, the Doctor said trying not to show how much the creature’s cries of pain was getting to him. They were lucky that they couldn’t hear it as it was above their range of hearing. The Doctor glanced at Melanie wondering how she was reacting to them. According to lessons at the academy, not long after the Bond is formed between couples, they start to feel what the other is feeling. They can also hear and project thoughts to each other. As Melanie was human, he didn’t know whether it would be the same for them.

The young woman in question was looking at the tentacles with a worried expression. For some reason just by looking at the tentacles she had this feeling that the creature was in pain, a lot of pain. Melanie felt tears pricking in her eyes as she knew all too well what that was like having been experienced that herself.

“What, like an infestation?” Liz Ten asked.

“Someone's helping it. Feeding it”, the Doctor said.

“Feeding my subjects to it”, Liz Ten said angrily “Come on. Got to keep moving” she stormed off, Mandy following her.

“Doctor?” Amy asked concerned.

“Oh, Amy, Elle” the Doctor breathed “We should never have come here”.

“No, we really shouldn’t”, Melanie mumbled, tears rolling down her eyes. Amy was quick to embrace her before the Doctor could.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liz Ten took them back to where she lived and showed them the bathrooms where the trio could get themselves cleaned up. Melanie took a lot longer than normal, making sure that she’d gotten all the horrible gunk out of her hair and that she did smell like a rubbish dump. Once she was sure that she was clean, the young woman stepped out of the shower, dried herself off and got back into her now clean pyjamas.

She left the bathroom and headed for Liz Ten’s bedroom. When she got there, the Doctor and Amy where already inside also clean. “A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?” the Doctor asked holding Liz Ten’s mask as Melanie carefully navigated her way through the maze of glasses of water on the floor.

“Secrets are being kept from me”, Liz Ten replied from where she sat on the bed “I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon”.

“How old were you when you came to the throne?” the Doctor questioned starting to pace on the spot.

“Forty. Why?” Liz Ten asked as Amy handed a spare band over to Melanie who’d just reached her.

Both Melanie and Amy where surprised at that “What, you're fifty now? No way”, Amy said. She wouldn’t have known that was how old the queen was judging by her appearance.

“You look really good for that age, if you don’t mind me saying”, Melanie remarked twisting her damp her into a Katniss style braid.

“I don’t mind at all Elle. They slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps”, Liz Ten explained.

“And you always wear this in public?” the Doctor asked sitting on the bed, still holding onto the mask.

“Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting”, Liz Ten explained as Melanie adjusted her braid to hide the scar on her neck. 

“Air-balanced porcelain” the Doctor muttered looking down at the mask in his hands. It looked more than 50 years old to him. In fact it looked a lot older.

He looked up at Liz Ten “Stays on by itself, because it's perfectly sculpted to your face”, the Doctor said. 

“Yeah? So what?” Liz Ten asked wondering what his point is.

“Oh, Liz. So everything”, the Doctor breathed.

The door opens and four hooded men enter the room “What are you doing? How dare you come in here?” Liz Ten said outraged that they’d come into her home.

“Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK” one of the hooded men said “You will come with us now”.

“Why would I do that?” Liz Ten eyed him. In response the hooded man’s head slowly turned around to show an angry expression, identical to the smiling figures from the booths. “How can they be Smilers?” she asked staring at him. _So that’s what they’re called_ Melanie thought. She had wondered if they had a particular name but never thought to ask.

“Half Smiler, half human” the Doctor said eyeing the hooded men warily as they were in the same room as his Bonded.

“Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?” Liz Ten demanded.

“The highest authority, Ma'am”, the human-smiler replied.

“I AM the highest authority”, Liz Ten reminded him.

“Yes, ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am”, the hybrid insisted.

“Where?” Liz Ten pressed.

“The Tower, Ma'am”, the human-smiler answered.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group was escorted to a large medieval style room containing high-tech machines. There was grating on the floor which they could as see yet more tentacles. “Doctor, where are we?” Amy asked looking around.

“The lowest point of Starship UK” the Doctor replied spinning on the spot, arms out “The dungeon”

“Ma'am” a grey haired man said politely, bowing to Liz Ten.

“Hawthorne!” she exclaimed “So _this_ is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do”

“There's children down here” Melanie commented as a small group of them passed by “What's all that about?”

“Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast” Hawthorne explained “For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky”.

“Yeah, look at us” the Doctor said, not at all happy “Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it?” the Doctor wandered about, examining equipment “Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle” he joins Liz Ten and Melanie by an open ‘well’ with a railing around it. Inside seems to be something alive.

“What's that?” Amy asked.

“Well, like I say, it depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain centre of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly…” Melanie looked up at the Doctor, her eyes wide as she put two and two together. 

“Or…?” Amy questioned.

“Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator” the Doctor glared at the queen “Starship UK's go faster button”.

“I don't understand”, Liz Ten said confused.

“I do…” Melanie whispered “how could you do it? Make this creature suffer just so this place could keep running?” she asked, her voice cracking “that’s no life anyone or anything and believe me…I know…” she let out a sob, Amy once again hugging her tightly. Melanie clung onto her friend like a life line as she cried.

“Tell you what” the Doctor said moving to another well and lifted the grate, utterly furious about the entire situation. Actually…furious didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling. A poor creature was being subjected to unspeakable pain which in turn was causing his Bonded grief. “Normally, it's above the range of human hearing” one of the tentacles of the creature broke free “This is the sound none of you wanted to hear!” the Doctor used his sonic to allow the others to hear the creature’s pained cries.

“Stop it” Liz called, turning to Hawthorne “Who did this?” she demanded as the Doctor turned off his sonic.

“We act on instructions from the highest authority”, Hawthorne replied.

“ _I_ am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now!” no one moved “Is anyone listening to me?”

“Liz. Your mask”, the Doctor said carefully taking the mask from his pocket.

“What about my mask?” Liz Ten demanded.

The Doctor tossed the mask to Liz Ten “Look at it. It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say”, he said.

“Yeah? It's an antique. So?” the woman shook her head not following along.

“Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and _perfectly_ sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long old reign”, the Doctor said, still seething. 

“Nah, it's ten years” Liz Ten insisted “I've been on this throne ten years”.

“Ten years. And the same ten years, over and over again” the Doctor took her by the hand and led her away “always leading you” he showed her the voting area “here…” the two buttons in front of the screen were labelled ‘Forget’ and ‘Abdicate’.

Liz Ten turned to Hawthorne, horrified “What have you done?”

“Only what you have ordered. We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us” Hawthorne sighed turning on the screen, playing a recording of the queen.

“If you are watching this…” the recording began “If _I_ am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London” Liz Ten sat down to watch “The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travellers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart” While clinging tightly to Amy’s arm, Melanie reached out and took the Doctor’s hand. The Time Lord gripped it tightly as he watched the recording. He could identify all too well with the Star Whale “The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the ‘Forget’ button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision”

The recording ended.

“I voted for this” Amy breathed in disbelief, she looked at the Doctor “Why would I do that?”

“Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice” the Doctor swallowed “Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong” the Doctor turned to look at her, his face hard “You don't ever decide what I need to know”. 

“I don't even remember doing it”, Amy pointed out.

“You did it. That's what counts”, the Doctor argued.

“I'm…I'm sorry”, the ginger said quietly.

“Oh, I don't care” the Doctor nearly sneered “When I'm done here, you're going home”, and with that he walked away, pulling his hand out of Melanie’s.

“Why? Because I made a mistake?” Amy called after him “ _One_ mistake? I don't even remember doing it” Amy strode over to him “Doctor!”

“Yeah, I know” the Doctor said as he examined the instrument panels, not even bothering to look up at her “You're only human”. Melanie hung back looking them both feeling torn. She wanted to defend Amy, tell the Doctor that it wasn’t fair to send her home for making a mistake that she didn’t even remember doing. But equally she wanted to have a go at Amy for making that choice. The ginger had seen the video…she _knew_ what these people had done to the Star Whale and yet she chose to forget it. And by doing so the Star Whale was forced to endure all that pain just to keep Starship UK running. Because of this conflict, she didn’t say anything.

“What are you doing?” Liz Ten asked quietly watching the Doctor work.

“The worst thing I'll ever do” the Doctor replied “I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it”

“That'll be like killing it”, Amy gasped.

“It’s better than subjecting it to torture ever day”, Melanie spoke up.

“She’s right”, the Doctor agreed looking up, meeting Melanie’s eyes, his hearts aching at the sadness, the traces of tears in them “so I’m going to have to murder this beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, ‘cos I won’t the be Doctor anymore”. 

Melanie could see the pain in his eyes as he spoke and her heart broke. Her hand closed around the angel figurine in her pocket. The impossible choice…humanity or the alien. She wouldn’t know what to do if she was in his position. Ideally she would want both the humans to survive and the Star Whale to live without being tortured. But there was no way for that to be possible. 

“There must be something we can do, some other way” Liz began.

“Nobody talk to me” he threatened before shouting at them “Nobody human has anything to say to me today!”

Melanie flinched at his tone which the Doctor had noticed. He also saw how scared she looked and he knew this time it was his fault. The Time Lord took a step towards her wanting to apologise, to tell her that he wasn’t shouting at her but the brunette backed away, her mind flashing back to what her uncle had done.

She remembered every punch…every cut of the knife…all the burns from cigarettes…

Melanie sank to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. She grasped her hair, her breathing turning erratic as her uncle’s words resonated in her head telling her she was worthless, that she didn’t deserve to live.

Amy carefully approached her friend. She’d witnessed several of these episodes before an knew exactly what to do. “Elle”, she called softly, taking the angel figurine out of Melanie’s dressing gown pocket, placing it in her friend’s hand “he isn’t here. He cannot hurt you. Just focus on the angel, let her fight your demons”.

“He wanted me to die”, Melanie whispered which the Doctor heard.

“I know”, Amy said gently sitting down next to her.

“Said I was weak…pathetic”, Melanie sniffled, resting her head on the ginger’s shoulder, shifting the figurine in her hands.

“No you’re not”, Amy insisted “you are strong Melanie Hannigan. The strongest person I know”.

“I don’t feel it”, the brunette said “I feel…like I’m made of glass and I’m about to break any second”. The Doctor felt like his hearts were glass and they’d just shattered at her words. She sounded so lost…so beat down. How could this person they spoke of do this to her? He honestly couldn’t think that she’d do a single thing that would warrant her being hurt in such a way. As much as the Time Lord wanted to join Amy in comforting Melanie, he had something else to do. Saving the Star Whale. He turned back to his work.

The ginger rubbed her friend’s arm while she watched the Doctor work. There _had_ to be a way to keep the people alive and save the Star Whale. She was broken out of her thoughts when Mandy suddenly got up and ran over to one of the three children that had entered the room.

“Timmy! You made it, you're ok!” Timmy didn’t say anything to her “It's me, Mandy”

Behind them a tentacle reached for the girl, Amy started to move forward but stopped when she saw that it wasn’t attacking Mandy. It just tapped her on the shoulder. Amy watched Mandy turn to it and start to stroke it.

Her eyes widened when she finally understood. “There is another way”, she breathed “Elle, I’ll be right back”, she said to her friend. Amy didn’t wait for a response from the brunette as she got up, running over to Liz Ten, grabbing her hand “Your Majesty. Going to need a hand”.

“Amy no!” the Doctor shouted seeing her drag the woman over to the voting buttons. He started toward the ginger pushed Liz Ten’s hand on the ‘Abdicate’. The Star Whale roared and the whole ship shook. Melanie pushed herself to her feet, stumbling over to the group. The Doctor was quick to meet her part way, wrapping an arm around her waist to support her. “Amy, what have you done?” the Time Lord demanded.

“Nothing at all” Amy smiled “Am I right?”

“We've INCREASED speed!” Hawthorne gasped in shock.

“Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot. Got to help”, Amy sassed.

“It's still here” Liz Ten frowned “I don't understand”.

“The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago” Amy told the woman “It _volunteered_. You didn't have to trap it or torture it. That was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind…” she turned to look at the Doctor standing beside Melanie “and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry”.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor and Melanie stood on the observation deck looking out at the stars, though the young woman was standing a little ways from him. “I’m sorry, Elle”, the Time Lord said quietly “I didn’t mean to…you know…”

“I know you didn’t”, Melanie assured him “you were angry, I get it. I’m just…broken and scared and one of these days Amy is going to realise that I’m a lost cause. She’ll walk away like she should’ve done years ago”.

“That’s never going to happen, Elle”, Amy said, walking up to her, Liz Ten’s mask in her hands. She gave it to the Doctor before taking hold of Melanie’s hands “now you listen and listen close. I love you, Melanie Hannigan and I will never ever walk away”.

The brunette managed to crack a smile at the ginger “thank you Amy”, she said “and I love you too”. The Doctor watched the pair of them hug with a smile. He figured that Amy wasn’t going to leave Melanie. He could only hope that his Bonded would eventually allow him to get that close for longer than a couple of seconds.

“Shouldn't we say goodbye? Won't they wonder where we went?” Amy asked the Doctor when they finally made their way back to the TARDIS.

“For the rest of their lives. Oh, the songs they'll write! Never mind them. Big day tomorrow”, the Doctor said.

“Sorry, what?” Amy froze on the spot wondering if Melanie had told him about her wedding to Rory.

“Well, it's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine. I skip the little ones”, the Doctor said and Amy relaxed. He unlocked the TARDIS, pushing the door open and the three of them entered.

“You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning…” Amy began as they walked up to the console, Melanie closing the door to the box “Have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just…just because you could?”

“Once, a long time ago”, the Doctor replied.

“What happened?” Melanie asked coming to join them at the console.

“Hello!” the Doctor said cheerfully.

“Right. Doctor, there's something I haven't told you….” Amy broke off when a phone started to ring “Is that a phone ringing?” she asked surprised.

“This is a phone box Ames”, Melanie reminded her moving around the console to where the phone was “do you want me to…?” she gestured to it and the Doctor nodded.

“Hello?” Melanie said answering the phone as the Doctor prepared to set the TARDIS into the vortex “Sorry, who?” she frowned “No, seriously, who?” Melanie put the phone against her shoulder “Says he's the Prime Minister”.

“First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you?” Amy remarked.

“Which Prime Minister?” the Doctor asked.

Melanie put the phone back to her ear “Which Prime Minister?” she listened for a moment before asking “Which British one?” her eyes widened when she heard when she heard which Prime Minister was on the other end. She took the phone away from her ear and held it out to the Doctor “Winston Churchill for you”

“Oh!” the Doctor took the phone “Hello, dear” he said cheerfully “What's up?”

“Tricky situation, Doctor. Potentially very dangerous” Churchill replied “I think I'm going to need you”

“Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister” the Doctor assured him, grinning at the excited looks on Amy and Melanie’s faces “We're on our way”


	3. Victory of the Daleks

**Thanks to ice-angel-doll, CoraPearson for following/faving my story.**

“If we’re going to meet Winston Churchill I think it would be best that we weren’t wearing PJ’s”, Melanie said.

“Well there’s plenty of clothes in the wardrobe that you can borrow”, the Doctor said before reeling off a list of directions.

“Right I think I got that”, Amy said although the list of directions the Doctor gave them was rather confusing “Elle? What about you?”

“Yeah I think so”, Melanie replied although she was just as lost as Amy is. The pair started to head off when the Doctor called

“Actually Elle do you mind if I have a chat with you?” the Doctor asked. While they’d been looking at the stars on the observation deck, he decided to tell her about the Bond and her being his Bonded. As she was travelling with him it only seemed right to tell her about it especially if she started picking up on his feelings or hearing his thoughts.

“Uh…sure”, Melanie replied.

“I can pick out some stuff for you”, Amy offered knowing what kind of things she liked.

“That’ll be great Ames. Thanks”, Melanie said, grateful. 

Amy nodded and walked off, heading for the wardrobe. Melanie turned and walked back to where the Doctor was standing. “What’s up?” she asked.

“I think its best if we sit down”, the Doctor suggested.

“Alright”, Melanie agreed.

“When we first met did you feel anything?” the Doctor asked after they sat on the jump seat “like a warmth in the chest and a tug in the heart?”

“Yeah I did”, Melanie replied. 

“What about when I helped you up?” the Time Lord questioned “did you feel anything like a shock?”

The brunette nodded “that’s exactly what I felt. Then there was this warmth like you’d get from drinking a cup of tea”, she explained “and then…everything seemed to fall away like it was just you and me”.

“There was shock when our hands first touched then I felt this pleasant rush of warmth”, Melanie replied, remembering “What does it mean?”

The Doctor hesitated before answering her. She had the right to know but he was worried about how she’d react. “It means you’re my Bonded”, he said carefully.

Melanie looked at him confused “I’m your…what?”

“My Bonded. The one who completes me. My other half. The person I’m meant to be with”, the Doctor explained.

“That sounds like a soulmate”, Melanie remarked.

“That would be the closest thing in Earth terms, yes. When you feel that warmth in your chest and the tug of your heart when you’ve met someone that means they are your Bonded. As we both got that feeling when we met…”

“That’s how you knew that we were each other’s Bonded”, Melanie finished “what about that thing when you helped me up from he floor?”

“That was the Bond being formed. It links us together for the rest of our lives”, the Doctor answered. He waited, his hearts starting to hammer, wondering what she was going to say to that.

“We’re linked…” Melanie breathed, eyes wide “how could do that to me?” she demanded, standing up “do you have any idea what you did? You took away my choice!”

“Elle, I didn’t mean to”, the Doctor insisted “I didn’t think…”

“You don’t say”, Melanie shot back, folding her arms “you have no idea what kind of hell I’ve been through. The man who did this…” she jabbed at the scar under her eye “and many others, took away my choice, just like you did. My life was literally in his hands. I lived in constant fear of being killed. I was so scared as I didn’t even know if the next breath I took was going to be my last” the brunette started to shake, tears streaming down her face “when I finally start getting my life back together, you come along and do…this! Well I don’t want it! I…I can’t…I can’t…” Melanie sank to the floor, overwhelmed by her emotions so even be able to speak properly.

The Doctor knelt down in front of her, gently taking her in his arms. Melanie stiffened at his touch but slowly relaxed when he rubbed her back. “I’m sorry Elle. I would’ve told you about this, I swear but I never expected it to happen so soon”, the Doctor said, resting his chin on top of her head “I honestly didn’t think, I just wanted to help you. I’m so sorry. If you want me to take you home, I will”. Melanie looked up at him through her tears, hearing the sincerity in his voice.

“No, I…I want to stay”, she replied. She much as she was hurt and angry at the Doctor, she knew that he had never intended for it to happen without telling her first. Plus her home wasn’t exactly safe with that monster running around so sticking with the Time Lord for the moment was her best option. It would also give her a chance to come around to the idea of being his Bonded. “But it’s going to take some time for to get used to this”, she added.

“Take all the time you need”, the Doctor said. He waited this long to come across his Bonded, he can wait a little longer for her to get used to it.

Melanie shifted in his arms a little “This isn’t a bad hug”, she commented, maybe it was because of the bond but she felt really safe in his hold, like nothing could touch her.

The Doctor smiled “thanks, I’ve had a while to get it right”, he told her.

“I’d better go see if Amy’s ok and get out of these things”, Melanie said after a moment, tugging on the sleeve of her robe. She stood up from the ground, moving out of the Doctor’s arms and headed off to the wardrobe to change.

It took her a bit of time to find it with the help of the TARDIS who lit the way with the lights on the walls. When Melanie stepped into the wardrobe, her mouth dropped open “whoa! This is huge!” she exclaimed. _Don’t know how I’ll find Amy in this_ she thought as she started walking “Amy!” she called “Amy!”

The ginger haired woman stepped out from behind a curtained off area as she heard her friend calling for her “Elle over here!” she shouted seeing the brunette walking away from here. Melanie turned at her friend’s shout and hurried over.

“Sorry it took me so long”, she said apologetically.

“That’s ok, this place is rather big isn’t it?” Amy remarked.

“Bit of an understatement. I see you’ve found something to wear”, Melanie said nodding to Amy’s outfit which consisted of a brown leather jacket, red t-shirt with a blue one underneath, grey denim mini skirt and brown cowboy boots.

“Yep. And I’ve found something for you too” Amy took Melanie by the arm and led her over to the curtained off area that she’d stepped out of. The brunette stepped inside to find the outfit Amy had picked out placed on the chair. Melanie swapped her pyjamas for a white vest, dark blue jeans burgundy cardigan and a pair of knee high brown boots. Before she left, she made sure to put the figurine into her pocket of her jeans. It was honestly a miracle that it fit, as if her pockets were bigger on the inside just like the TARDIS was.

“Thanks for picking the stuff out Amy”, Melanie said as she pushed aside the curtain.

“No problem” Amy and Melanie then left the wardrobe. “So what did the Doctor want to talk to you about?” Amy asked as they headed back to the console room, following lights the TARDIS lit up for them to show them the quickest way back.

“Nothing much”, Melanie said vaguely. She wasn’t sure how Amy would react to the whole Bonding thing so she decided not to tell her until she understood more herself.

“You two ready to go?” the Doctor asked as they entered the console room.

“Ready as we’ll ever be”, Melanie replied bounding up the steps to the console, Amy following. The Doctor smiled at that and then pulled a lever sending the TARDIS off to go see Winston Churchill.

\------------------

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS alone to face the soldiers waiting for him. He’d told both Amy and Melanie to wait inside until he called for them, to let them know it was safe. He had decided to do that the moment he saw the soldiers on the scanner. He wasn’t about to risk his the safety Bonded or his companion …well mostly his Bonded as her safety was his top priority. Not that Amy’s safety was important to him also, it was but Melanie’s safety would always come first.

After a moment the soldiers parted to allow Winston Churchill to pass. The Doctor smiled at the man before calling for the women “Amy! Elle!”

Amy stepped out first, followed by Melanie both looking at Churchill in amazement. “Doctor. Is it you?” the man asked looking him up and down.

“Oh, Winston, my old friend” the Time Lord laughed, going to shake Churchill’s hand but the man motioned with his own as if he wanted something. “Ah, every time!”

“What's he after?” Melanie asked.

“TARDIS key, of course”, the Doctor replied. Every time he’d met the man, he’d been trying to get the key off of him.

“Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor!” Churchill cried “The lives that could be saved”.

“Ah, doesn't work like that” the Doctor closed the TARDIS door behind Amy.

“Must I take it by force?” Churchill threatened playfully.

“I'd like to see you try”, the Doctor said, eyeing the man. 

“At ease”, Churchill called and the soldiers lowered their guns. “So who are your two lovely companions?” he asked.

“Winston Churchill, Amy Pond” the Doctor introduced, nodding at Amy. The woman could only wave at him, still rather amazed to be meeting THE Winston Churchill “and this is Melanie Hannigan”, the Doctor said introducing the brunette.

Melanie stepped forward, holding out her hand “it’s nice to meet you”, she said politely.

“It’s nice to meet you too Miss Hannigan”, Churchill said shaking her hand, making the woman internally jump up and down at the fact that she just shook hands with a historical figure. On the outside she opted for a smile.

“You don’t need to call me Miss Hannigan, Elle is just fine”, Melanie told him, letting go of his hand and moving back to stand beside the Doctor.

“You rang?” he asked, offering his hand to his Bonded much to his delight, she took it. Churchill motioned them to follow as he turn and walked out the storage closet. He led them through a corridor, all them hearing the sounds of the air raid happening above. Somehow the Doctor had managed to obtain Churchill’s walking stick while they walked, tucking it under one arm.

“You've changed your face again”, Churchill remarked, eyeing the Doctor.

“Yeah, well, had a bit of work done” he shrugged.

“What does he mean you changed your face?” Melanie asked a little confused.

“Time Lords have thing called regeneration. When we’re seriously hurt or dying, we regenerate. Every single cell in our bodies change. So does our appearance”, the Doctor explained “If you like I can show you some of my old regenerations” the Doctor offered “Though I have to warn you, some of them may look a bit strange”.

“Stranger than you look with that bow tie?” Melanie asked reaching up, gently tugging it. Amy eyed the move curiously. It seemed like her friend was a bit more relaxed around the Doctor. Whatever they talked about must’ve helped her. 

“Bow ties are cool”, the Doctor said straightening his bow tie his free hand.

“Mm…I’m not so sure about that”, the brunette said.

“Give me time Elle and I’ll get you to agree with me”, the Doctor said confidently. Melanie opened her mouth to tell him that she very much doubted that he’ll be able to get her to agree with him when Amy suddenly cheered

“Got it, got it, got it. Cabinet War Rooms, right?”

“Yep”, the Doctor confirmed “Top secret heart of the War Office, right under London”.

“You're late, by the way”, Churchill informed the Doctor.

“Requisitions, sir” a young woman said coming up, handing over a clipboard.

“Excellent”, Churchill checked them over.

“Late?” the Doctor asked lifting the hand that was holding Melanie’s so he could check his watch.

“I rang you a month ago”, Churchill said signing the papers he’d finished checking.

“Really?” the Doctor frowned “Sorry, sorry. It's a Type Forty TARDIS, I'm just running her in”, he said apologetically ignoring the look Melanie was giving him.

Churchill hands the clipboard back to the young woman “Something the matter, Breen?” he asked noticing she looked not that happy “You look a little down in the dumps”.

“No, sir” Breen hugged the clipboard “Fine, sir”.

“Action this day, Breen! Action this day!” Churchill declared.

“Yes, sir” Breen nodded, forcing a smile as she glanced at Amy and Melanie before leaving.

“Excuse me, sir. Got another formation coming in, Prime Minister” an officer called over “Stukas, by the look of them”.

“We shall go up top then, Group Captain!” Churchill ordered “We'll give ‘em what for! Coming, Doctor?”

“Why?” the Doctor questioned.

Churchill snatched back his cane “I have something to show you”, he said before walking off. The Doctor turned to Melanie, mouthing ‘ooh’ getting a laugh from her and Amy. They followed Churchill into a lift. The man starting it up as soon as they were all in.

Melanie wrinkled her nose as she waved the smoke away from Churchill’s cigar. The Doctor wasn’t particularly happy about that either. Amy was luckier as she was behind them, therefore not getting any smoke in her direction. “We stand at a crossroads, Doctor” Churchill began “quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace”

“Such as?” the Doctor asked. The lift stopped and Churchill opened the gate.

“Follow me”, he instructed, exiting the lift. They all walked out onto a roof with sandbags lining the edge, a man with a white lab coat was watching the sky.

The two women looked at the scene before them, at the number of balloons and blimps tethered and waiting. “Wow”, Amy breathed.

“You said it”, Mleanie wholeheartedly agreed. To learn about WW2 in a classroom was one thing but to be actually there was something else entirely.

“Doctor, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell. Head of our Ironsides Project”, Churchill said introducing the man in the lab coat. The Doctor held up his hand in a ‘V for victory’ sign earning a shake of the head from Melanie.

“How do you do?” Bracewell waved at them before resuming his watch on the London skyline. The Doctor, Melanie and Amy walked over to the edge as a formation of German planes approached, dropping bombs as they went.

“Ready, Bracewell?” Churchill called to the man.

“Aye aye, sir” Bracewell came him a thumbs up “On my order, fire!”

From within a sandbagged area, a laser shot out and fired at the German planes, destroying them instantly. Melanie stiffened “can’t be”, she breathed. She’d seen that kind of laser before, only once. The day there was planets in the sky. She really, really hoped that didn’t come from the thing that had produced those kind of lasers before because that had been the stuff of nightmares.

“What was that?” Amy gasped.

“That wasn't human. That was never human technology” the Doctor muttered “That sounded like…Show me! Show me what that was!” he demanded running over to the ladder and climbing up it.

“Advance”, Bracewell ordered.

“Our new secret weapon”, Churchill said proudly as a Dalek trundled out from behind the sandbags, painted in army green, a utility belt around it with a small union flag under its eyestalk.

Melanie stared up at it horrified, her face paling in recognition. It was the same thing. Different colours but it was the same thing that had been responsible for the loss of so many, the loss of her friends…

Amy looked at her friend concerned when she started muttering ‘no’ repeatedly under her breath as she backed away, her eyes fixed on the thing in front of the Doctor, her face as white as a sheet. “Elle?” she said walking towards her, very worried.

“They killed them….so many people” Melanie gasped, her breathing becoming more erratic as more memories from that day came rushing to the surface. Amy ran forward, grabbing hold of Melanie by her upper arms as the brunette’s legs gave way.

“Doctor!” Amy shouted, sinking to the floor with a shaking Melanie. Her friend looked like she was going to be sick. Or pass out. Probably both. At Amy’s shout, the Doctor tore his gaze away from the Dalek, his eyes widening at the sight of the ginger on the floor, holding onto a very pale Melanie. He quickly clambered down the ladder nearly slipping on the rungs in his haste. The second he reached the bottom rung, he jumped off, raced across the rooftop to his Bonded and companion.

“What happened?” the Doctor demanded as he dropped to his knees beside Amy, taking his shaking Bonded from her.

“I don’t know, she just freaked out when she saw that… thing. Before I knew it, she collapsed!” Amy exclaimed.

The Doctor glanced down at the woman in his arms, knowing by her state that he wasn’t going to get anything from her. “Come on, we’re going back to the TARDIS”, He said standing up with Melanie in his arms. First he was going to get his Bonded in a safe place. Then he was going to deal with the Daleks.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When he reached the TARDIS, the Doctor didn’t even need to unlock the door as it swung open on its own. As he stepped inside, the ship gave an unhappy hum at the terrified state her thief’s Bonded was in. “I know dear, I know”, the Doctor muttered as he crossed the console room with Melanie in his arms, Amy following him.

He walked up the steps and had barely entered the corridor when a door appeared marked with Melanie’s name. The door swung open to reveal a nice room decorated in pastel colours. The Doctor entered the room, going over to the bed and tried to set Melanie down except she seemed have gotten a tight grip on his jacket and didn’t want to let go. So the Doctor just sat down on the bed with her on his lap. “It ok Elle, you’re in the TARDIS” he said softly “nothing’s going to hurt you in here. You’re safe. You’re safe”.

Amy watched from the doorway as the Doctor quietly assured Melanie that she _was_ in fact safe. It did seem like his words were working as the brunette had stopped shaking although she was still very pale. “I’m sorry”, she heard Melanie mumble.

“You don’t need to apologise Elle”, the Doctor said “it’s those Daleks” Amy frowned when she heard the change of tone in his voice when he said the word Dalek.

“Is that what they are?” she asked coming over to sit on the Doctor’s other side so she could look at them both in the face.

“Yes”, the Doctor replied “you must remember them Amy, they invaded your world” he felt Melanie stiffen in his arms when he said that.

Amy shook her head “no, sorry”, she said. She would’ve remembered if aliens like that had invaded. Both the Doctor and Melanie looked at her surprised.

“Planets in the sky”, Melanie said quietly, her voice shaky. That got a blank look from the ginger woman.

“I’m sorry Elle but I don’t remember anything like that”, Amy said apologetically.

“That’s not possible”, the Doctor said looking at her slightly bewildered. How could Melanie remember them but Amy didn’t? That didn’t make any sense at all. However, figuring out why his Bonded remembered when his companion didn’t was going to have to wait. Figuring out what the Daleks were up to and putting a stop to it took priority. “Amy, I want to you stay here with Elle”, he said getting up, turning around and setting Melanie onto the bed, gently prising her fingers off his jacket.

“Why can’t you stay?” Melanie asked not wanting him to leave.

“I’ve got to stop the Daleks”, the Doctor replied trying to ignore how his hearts ached at the look on her face “and I need you both safe” he cupped her face “I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise”, he said kissing the top of her head. He stepped away from the bed, turned around and walked out of the room resisting the urge to look back at Melanie. It was difficult but he managed to get to the door without looking back once. The Doctor quickly left the TARDIS, hearing the lock click after he closed the door. That made him feel all little better, knowing that Melanie and Amy were locked in, perfectly safe inside the TARDIS.

\------------------

“How is Miss Hannigan?” Churchill asked when the Doctor entered his office. He’d been concerned about the young woman and her rather extreme reaction to Bracewell’s Ironsides.

“As well as she can be after seeing a Dalek”, the Doctor replied going over to the desk where diagrams, blueprints, papers and photographs laid out. Whatever Melanie had witnessed the day the Daleks invaded had been horrible enough for her extreme reaction to the Daleks. And it broke his hearts to see her that terrified.

“Why are you calling it a Dalek?” Churchill frowned.

“Because that what it’s called”, the Doctor answered looking up at him after examining the papers on the desk.

Churchill shook his head “They are Bracewell's _Ironsides_ , Doctor” he insisted “Look. Blueprints, statistics, field tests, photographs” he added pointing to each one in turn “He _invented_ them”.

“Invented them?” the Time Lord scoffed “Oh, no, no, no”. He _knew_ Bracewell didn’t invent them. He _couldn’t_ have, it was impossible. So how did he get the idea to ‘invent’ them?

“Yes. He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fellow's a genius”, Churchill said proudly.

“He didn't invent them!” the Doctor shouted hitting his hand on the desk “They're alien”.

“Alien”, Churchill repeated unsure as to believe the Doctor. He could he when he had overwhelming evidence which supported the fact that one of his scientists invented them. A Dalek glided past the door causing the Doctor to tense up, glancing over his shoulder to glare at it.

“And totally hostile”, he hissed as he turned back to Churchill once the Dalek had gone.

“Precisely” Churchill nodded “They will win me the war”. He turned over a blueprint to reveal a propaganda poster of a large Dalek before heading out of the room. The Time Lord followed him.

“Why won't you listen to me?” the Doctor cried, frustrated with the fact that he _wasn’t_ listening “Why did you call me in if you won't listen to me?!”

“When I rang you a month ago, I must admit I had my doubts” Churchill confessed as they walked “The Ironsides seemed too good to be true”.

“Yes! Right! So destroy them! Exterminate them!” the Doctor shouted, anger rising within him as Melanie’s frightened face appeared in his mind.

“But imagine what I could do with a hundred!” Churchill countered “A thousand!”

“I am imagining”, the Doctor said darkly eyeing a Dalek as it trundled past with a file box balanced on its sucker.

Churchill turned off into the Map Room, the Doctor following him in. Inside of the room was a flurry of activity, groups of people manning the radio, others pushing small figures over a large map. The Time Lord stopped eyeing another Dalek at the other end of the room. That was the third one he’d seen so far. He really hoped those were the only three around. The Doctor looked away from it and strode over to Churchill, snatching the cigar from his mouth. “Winston, Winston, please”, he pleaded. He had to get the man to listen to him. So many lives were at stake.

“We are waging total war, Doctor!” Churchill retorted “Day after day the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist”.

“Wait till the Daleks get started”, the Doctor said grimly thinking about the times the Daleks invaded Earth.

“Men, women and children slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flames!”, Churchill argued.

“Yeah? Try the Earth in flames”, the Doctor countered his mind flashing back to the Time War. He couldn’t let that happen to Earth. He _couldn’t._

“I weep for my country. I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart”, Churchill informed him, the pain clear in his voice. He moved around the table, the Doctor going after him not about to give up in trying to get Churchill to understand.

“You're resisting, Winston! The whole world _knows_ you're resisting! You're a beacon of hope”, the Doctor said.

“But for how long?” Churchill signed some more papers “Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now”.

“Can I be of assistance?” a Dalek asked trundling up to them.

“Shut it!” the Doctor snapped. He turned to Churchill “Listen to me. Just listen!” he urged “The Daleks have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them!”

“If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favourable reference to the Devil!” Churchill cried “These machines are our salvation” a siren sounded before the Doctor could say anything “Oh, the All Clear. We are safe, for now” and with that the man left, a Dalek following him.

“I wish”, the Doctor muttered. He _knew_ the Daleks were up to something and he was going to prove it.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor strode into Bracewell’s lab. If he couldn’t get Churchill to listen to him then he’d just have to try Bracewell, the supposed ‘inventor’. Also he wanted to know how the man ‘came up’ with idea of the Ironsides. “All right, Prof!” he called as he checked out the equipment “Now, the PM's been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours” he picked up a file and started looking through it “Amazing. You must be very proud of them”

“Just doing my bit” Bracewell smiled.

“How did you do it?” the Doctor asked looking up from the file “Come up with the idea?”

“How does the muse of invention come to anyone?” Bracewell countered.

The Doctor tossed the file onto a desk “But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?”

“Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head! Wonderful things! Like…let me show you” Bracewell moved over to a desk, the Doctor following him “Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight” Bracewell held up a notebook which the Doctor grabbed, taking a quick look at it “Gravity bubbles that can sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere” the Doctor snatched that notebook from Bracewell and skimmed the first page “Came to me in the bath”

“And are these your ideas or theirs?” the Doctor asked dropping the notebook onto the desk.

“Oh no, no, no. These robots are entirely under my control, Doctor” Bracewell assured him “They are….” a Dalek brings the scientist a cup of tea “Thank you…the perfect servant, and the perfect warrior”

“I don't know what you're up to, Professor” the Doctor said giving him a glare “but whatever they've promised, you cannot trust them! Call them what you like, the Daleks are death!”

“Yes, Doctor” Churchill called as he walked in, followed by a Dalek “Death to our enemies. Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the Third Reich!”

“Yes, Winston, and death to everyone else too!” Why weren’t they listening to him? Seriously? He trying to tell them, to warn them about the Daleks but it was falling on deaf ears.

“Would you care for some tea?” the Dalek asked the Doctor. In response the Time Lord knocked the tray of its sucker.

“Stop this!” he shouted, glaring at it “What are you doing here? What do you want?”

“We seek only to help you”, the Dalek replied.

“To do what?” the Doctor snapped.

“To win the war”, the Dalek answered.

“Really? _Which_ war?” the Doctor questioned.

“I do not understand”, the Dalek said sounding as confused as a Dalek could.

“This war, against the Nazis” the Doctor explained “or your war? The war against the rest of the Universe? The war against all life forms that are not Dalek?”

“I do not understand. I am your soldier”, the Dalek repeated.

“Oh, yeah?” the Doctor snatched up a large spanner. If he couldn’t get Bracewell and Churchill to listen to him, then he would prove his point that the Daleks were bad by forcing it to show its true nature “Okay. Okay, soldier, defend yourself”

“Doctor, what the devil?!” Bracewell exclaimed as the Doctor started hitting the Dalek.

“You do not require tea?” the Dalek asked.

“Stop him! Prime Minister, please”, Bracewell pleaded.

“Doctor, please, these machines are precious” Churchill tried but the Time Lord ignored him.

“Come on!” the Doctor egged the Dalek on “Fight back! You want to, don't you? You know you do”

“I must protest”, Bracewell tried again.

“What are you waiting for?” the Doctor glared “Look, you hate me. You want to kill me. Well, go on. Kill me. Kill me!” he struck the Dalek again.

“Please desist from striking me” the Dalek requested “I am your soldier”.

“You are my enemy!” the Doctor hit it again with every word, his hearts racing, anger burning inside him for his hatred of the Daleks “And I am yours! You are everything I despise! The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again, I've defeated you. I sent you back into the Void! I saved the whole of reality from you! I am the Doctor! And you are the Daleks!”

With one hard kick, the Doctor sent the Dalek rolling backwards. “Correct” the Dalek swivelled back to him “Review testimony”

The Time Lord frowned when he heard his voice being played back “’I am the Doctor! And you are the Daleks!’”

“Testimony. What are you talking about, testimony?” the Doctor asked.

“Transmitting testimony now”, a second Dalek stated.

“Transmit what, where?” the Doctor asked confused as to why they needed his testimony. A moment later the second Dalek announced

“Testimony accepted!”

“Get back! All of you!” the Doctor ordered backing away from the Dalek.

“Marines!” Churchill called “Marines, get in here!”

Two Marines entered the room but were promptly shot by one of the Daleks.

“Stop it! Stop it, please!” Bracewell shouted, not understanding why his creation was turning on them “What are you doing? You are my Ironsides”.

“We are the Daleks”, one of the Daleks said correcting him.

“But I created you!” Bracewell exclaimed.

“No” one of the Daleks shot Bracewell’s hand, revealing a stump of wires and metal “We created you!”

“Victory!” both Daleks shouted together “Victory! Victory!”

And then they disappeared, teleporting out. The Doctor stared at where they once were, horrified. He wanted to know what their plan was. Turned out _he_ was their plan.

The Doctor ran out of the room, heading straight for the TARDIS. As if the box could sense his urgency, the door unlocked, swinging open. Inside both women were sitting on the steps, waiting for him. “Good you’re both here. I need you to leave”, he said going past them to the console. Both women stood up at that.

“Why?” Amy asked. He’d insisted that they stay put as it was safer for them in the box, now he wanted them to leave?

“Didn’t you stop the Daleks?” Melanie asked.

“No, not yet. Long story short I wanted to know what their plan was and it turned out it was me all along. Now I’ve got to go after them, so I need you two to leave”, the Doctor said quickly.

“We’re supposed stay here in the middle of the London Blitz? How is that safe?” Amy questioned going up the steps, Melanie following.

“It’s safer than where I’m going”, the Doctor retorted working at the controls.

“You are going to come back, right?” Melanie asked quietly making the Doctor stop what he was doing and look up at her. He moved around the console and took her hands.

“Of course I will come back” he promised “I’ve got something to live for now” he added giving her a look. Melanie knew that he was talking about her.

The Doctor let go of her hands and watched as she and Amy walked down the steps and out the TARDIS. Melanie paused in the doorway, look back at him and said “Good luck”. And with that she stepped out, closing the door behind her.

She and Amy watched as the TARDIS dematerialised. “What's he expect us to do now?” Amy asked her.

“KBO, of course”, Churchill said behind them. Amy and Melanie turned to face him.

“I’m sorry?” Melanie asked confused.

“Keep buggering on”, Churchill elaborated. _Huh looks like I’ve learned something new today_ Melanie thought.

\----------------

**(First army green Dalek – 1 st AG Dalek. Second army green Dalek – 2nd AG Dalek). **

“How about that cuppa now, then?” the Doctor asked rubbing his hands together as he stepped out of the TARDIS.

“It is the Doctor”, the gold Dalek announced.

“Exterminate!” 1st AG Dalek shouted.

“Wait, wait, wait. I wouldn't if I were you!” the Doctor warned pulling out a jammy dodger from his pocket and held it out in front of him “TARDIS self-destruct, and you know what that means. My ship goes, you all go with it”.

“You would not use such a device”, 2nd AG Dalek said, not believing him.

“Try me”, the Doctor challenged. 1st AG Dalek rolled forward, the Doctor turning towards it, holding out the jammy dodger “Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. No scans. No nothing” he said looking between each one “One move and I'll destroy us all, you got that? TARDIS bang bang, Daleks boom!” the Dalek moved back “Good boy”. The Doctor looked at the instrument panels “This ship's pretty beaten up” he remarked eyeing the rusted panel “Running on empty, I'd say, like you” he walked around it “When we last met, you were at the end of your rope. Finished”

“One ship survived”, 2nd AG Dalek informed him.

“And you fell back through time, yes?” the Doctor nodded “Crippled, dying?”

“We picked up a trace. One of the Progenitor devices”, 2nd AG Dalek told him.

“Progenitor? What's that when it's at home?” the Doctor asked, not having heard of it before.

“It is our past, and our future”, 2nd AG Dalek replied.

“Ohhh, that's deep. That is deep for a Dalek”, the Doctor remarked a bit surprised at that “What does it mean, though?”

“It contains pure Dalek DNA” the gold Dalek explained “Thousands were created. All were lost, save one”

“Okay, but there's still one thing I don't get, though. If you've got the Progenitor, why build Bracewell?” the Doctor asked.

“It was…necessary”, 2nd AG Dalek admitted.

“But why?” he asked, then it hit him “I get it. Oh, I get it! I get it. Oh ho, this is rich!” he laughed “The Progenitor wouldn't recognise you, would it? It saw you as impure. Your DNA is unrecognisable as Dalek”

“A solution was devised”, 1st AG Dalek said.

“Yes, yes, yes. Me. My testimony. So you set a trap” the Doctor said figuring it out, why they needed _his_ testimony “You knew that the Progenitor would recognise me, the Daleks' greatest enemy. It would accept my word. My recognition of you”. The 1st AG Dalek turned to the instrument panel behind it. “No. No, no. What are you doing?” the Doctor demeaned holding out the jammy dodger.

“Withdraw now, Doctor, or the city dies in flames”, the gold Dalek threatened.

“Who are you kidding?” the Doctor scoffed “This ship is a wreck. You don't have the power to destroy London”.

“Watch as the humans destroy themselves”, the gold Dalek said. A dish on the outside of the ship lowers and shoots out a beam of energy towards London.

~Map room~

The Map Room was thrown into what Melanie described as chaos as the generators came on, lighting up London, making it an easy target to the Nazis. “The generators won't switch off” an officer said flicking a switch on the wall “The lights are on all across London, Prime Minister”

“It has to be the Daleks”, Amy guessed. It was the only thing that made sense.

“The Germans can see every inch of the city. We're sitting ducks” Churchill said worried for the people in the city above. He turned to one of the officers “Get those lights out before the Germans get here!” he ordered. The officer nodded and hurried off.

Melanie watched all the panic, getting the feeling that the only way to turn the lights off would be from the Dalek ship. Where the Doctor was. If only there was a way to let him know what was happening! She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples, trying to block out all the noise and chaos as she attempted to focus on the problem at hand. _Daleks have turned on the lights. Making it easier for the German planes_ she thought.

Little did she know that up on the Dalek ship, the Doctor had heard it. His eyes widened as her voice whispered in his mind. He knew that Bonded couples were able to telepathically talk to each other and he wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to given that Melanie was human. However, it looked like that was the case after all. Or at least he hoped it was and it wasn’t just his imagination plus a bit of wishful thinking at work.

Then a thought struck him. The Daleks had just turned on all the lights in London. They made the city an easy target for the Nazis to attack. They made _Melanie_ a target. “Turn those lights off now!” the Doctor demanded brandishing the jammy dodger “Turn London off or I swear I will use the TARDIS self-destruct!” 

“Stalemate, Doctor” 2nd AG Dalek said. It knew the Doctor _wouldn’t_ use the self-destruct just it knew they weren’t going to turn London’s lights off “Leave us and return to Earth”.

“Oh, that's it. That's your great victory? You leave?” the Doctor spat out.

“Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again”, 2nd AG Dalek said.

“No, no, no! I won't let you get away this time! I won't!” the Doctor shouted. He _couldn’t_ let them go. If he did they could come back, stronger than ever. He HAD to end it, here and now.

There was a mechanical whoosh and then a soft thrumming.

“We have succeeded. DNA reconstruction is complete”, 2nd AG Dalek announced.

The three Daleks moved back from a set of doors, now glowing with a red energy. The doors slide open a moment later. “Observe, Doctor, a new Dalek paradigm” 1st AG Dalek said sounding as excited as a Dalek could get.

The Doctor watched in horror as five new, larger and brightly coloured Daleks emerge one by one from the Progenitor cabinet “The Progenitor has fulfilled our new destiny. Behold, the restoration of the Daleks. The resurrection of the master race” 2nd AG Dalek declared.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amy, Churchill and Melanie walked into Bracewell’s lab in time to see the scientist place a gun to his head. “Bracewell! Put the gun down!” Churchill ordered.

“My life is a lie, and I choose to end it”, Bracewell wept.

“In your own time, Bracewell because right now we need your help”, Melanie said as they walked over.

“But those creatures…my Ironsides…they made me? I…I can remember things. So many things. The last war-- The squalor and the mud and the awful, awful misery of it all. What am I? What am I?” Bracewell demanded, the gun shaking in his hand.

“What you are, sir, is either on our side or theirs. Now, I don't give a damn if you're a machine, Bracewell. Are you a man?” Churchill asked giving him a look which made Bracewell hesitate.

“Listen to me”, Amy said softly “I understand. Really, I do” she reached out and gently took the gun from him “Look, there is a spaceship up there lighting up London like a Christmas tree. Thousands of people will die tonight if we don't stop it, and you are the only one who can help take it down”

“I am?” Bracewell asked surprised that _he_ was the only one who could stop the Daleks.

“Yes, you are”, Melanie replied “You're alien technology”.

“You're as clever as the Daleks are, so start thinking” Amy added “What about rockets? You got rockets?” she questioned.

“Or some kind of missile?” Melanie suggested.

“It isn't a fireworks party, Miss Pond, Miss Hannigan” Churchill said “We need proper tactical….” The man’s eyes lit up as a thought came to him “A missile…Or…?”

“Or what?” Amy asked.

“We could send something up there, you say?” Churchill asked, turning to Bracewell.

“With a gravity bubble, yes” Bracewell showed him the plans, the man taking them and looking them over “Theoretically it's possible that we could actually send something into space”. 

“Bracewell…it's time to think big!” Churchill said before slapping the design back onto the table.

On the Dalek spaceship, the old Daleks were praising the newly created ones. “All hail the new Daleks. All hail the new Daleks!”

“Yes, you are inferior!” the white Dalek announced, its voice deeper and more menacing.

“Yes”, one of the old Daleks.

“Then prepare”, the White Dalek said.

“We are ready!” the three old Daleks stated.

“Cleanse the unclean! Total obliteration! Disintegrate!” the white Dalek ordered.

The blue and red Daleks fired at the two army green Daleks and the lone gold one, destroying them completely. 

“Blimey. What do you do to the ones who mess up?” the Doctor remarked.

“You are the Doctor!” the white Dalek said turning back to him “You must be exterminated!”

The Doctor held out the jammy dodger “Don't mess with me, sweetheart”, he warned.

“We are the paradigm of a new Dalek race”, the white Dalek announced “Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal and the Supreme”.

“Which would be you, I'm guessing?” the Doctor said eyeing him “Well, you know, nice paint job. I'd be feeling pretty swish if I looked like you. Pretty ‘Supr-eme’”

~Map Room~

Upon hearing this through the screen on the device Bracewell had rigged up, Melanie shook her head. _Only he could say that to a Dalek_ she thought. She wouldn’t be able to strike up a conversation with a Dalek, not after what happened a few years ago. She shook her head, her hand slipping into her pocket to grip the angel. She was _not_ going to get pulled back into her past. Not when the others were counting on her to be just as focused as they were.

~Spaceship~

“Question is, what do we do now?” the Doctor asked “either you turn off your clever machine, or I'll blow you and your new paradigm into eternity”.

“You would not kill yourself, it would hurt your Bonded”, the white Dalek said making the Doctor tense up.

“How could I have a Bonded? My home planet is gone. No Time Ladies left to be my Bonded”, he said calmly trying to ignore how his hearts started beating a little faster.

“Hearts rate is increased” the white Dalek told him “Brain activity, levels of adrenaline and testosterone are also increased. These are indications that you have a Bonded”

“Scan also reveals the item in your hand is not a TARDIS self-destruct device” the blue Dalek added “It is non-existent”.

The Doctor put the jammy dodger away “All right, it's a Jammy Dodger, but I was promised tea”, he said his hearts still hammering away at the fact that his worst enemy _knew_ he had a Bonded. All those things the white Dalek had listed off as being increased _were_ all signs of a recent formation of the Bond.

Suddenly an alarm sounded. The blue Dalek goes to the scanner “Alert! Unidentified projectile approaching!” it announced. The Doctor went over to a second scanner “Correction, multiple projectiles!” the blue Dalek said correcting himself.

“What have the humans done?” the white Daleks asked.

“I don't know”, the Doctor replied as he looked at the multiple blips on the scanner.

“Explain! Explain! Explain!” the white Dalek demanded.

“Danny Boy to the Doctor!” a pilot’s voice called over the speakers “Danny Boy to the Doctor! Are you receiving me? Over”

“Oh ho! Winston, you beauty!” the Doctor cheered happily.

“Danny Boy to the Doctor! Come in. Over” the pilot repeated.

“Loud and clear, Danny Boy!” the Doctor called back “Big dish, side of the ship. Blow it up! Over!” and with that he made a run for the TARDIS, the Dalek’s opening fire on him.

By the time the Doctor had made it to the TARDIS and patched into the transmission so he could communicate with the pilots, only one was left. “Danny Boy to the Doctor….only me left now. Anything you can do, sir? Over”

The Doctor picked up small microphone and spoke into it “The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. I can disrupt the Dalek shields, but not for long. Over”.

“Good show, Doctor. Go to it. Over”, the pilot said. The Doctor flung down the microphone and frantically worked on the controls to disrupt the shields to the Dalek ship.

“The Doctor to Danny Boy the shields have been disrupted”, the Time Lord said into microphone.

“I'm going in. Wish me luck. Over”

“Good luck Danny Boy”. The Doctor only had to wait a moment before the pilot shouted happily

“Direct hit! The dish is gone!” The Doctor laughed in delight at the news. No more dish meant that London could be plunged into darkness once more, making it no longer an easy target. It also meant that his Bonded was currently safe, which was a big relief for him. “Danny Boy to the Doctor….going in for another attack”, the pilot told him.

“The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Destroy this ship!” the Doctor commanded “Over”

“What about you, Doctor?”

“I'll be okay”, the Doctor replied.

Suddenly the white Dalek appeared on the large circular screen in the TARDIS wall “Doctor, call off your attack”, it ordered.

“Ah ha, what?” the Doctor laughed “and let you scuttle off back to the future? No fear. This is the end for you. The final end”, he said leaning against the railing.

“Call off the attack, or we will destroy the Earth” the white Dalek threatened.

“I'm not stupid, mate. You've just played your last card”, the Doctor said not believing their threat.

“Bracewell is a bomb” the white Dalek informed him.

“You're bluffing”, he said “Deception's second nature to you. There isn't a sincere bone in your body” he thought about what he said and then corrected himself “there isn't a bone in your body”

“His power is derived from an Oblivion Continuum” the white Dalek told him “Call off your attack, or we will detonate the android” it threatened.

“No. This is my best chance ever” he walked over to the console, turning on the scanner to address the Dalek on it “The last of the Daleks. I can rid the Universe of you, once and for all”. He would never have to worry about them ever again. It could end, right here, right now. So many lives would be saved as a result. And Melanie would be safe. That’s all that really mattered to him, that she was safe. She wouldn’t become a target for the Daleks which is what she’d become if he let them go.

“Then do it” the white Dalek challenged “But we will shatter the planet below. The Earth will die screaming as will your Bonded”

“Yeah, and if I let you go, you'll be stronger than ever” the Doctor countered glaring at the screen “A new race of Daleks”.

“Then choose, Doctor. Destroy the Daleks or save the Earth” the white Dalek taunted “Begin countdown of Oblivion Continuum. Choose, Doctor! Choose! Choose!”

The Doctor snatched up the microphone “The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Withdraw”, he ordered. As much as he wanted to destroy the Daleks once and for all he couldn’t sacrifice his Bonded. That was something he could _never_ do.

“Say again, sir. Over”

“Withdraw! Return to Earth. Over and out”, the Doctor said sharply.

“But sir…!” the pilot protested.

“There's no time” the Doctor snapped “You have to return to Earth now! Over!” he dropped the microphone and frantically piloted the TARDIS back to earth.

The moment it landed in the storage room, the Doctor was out of the door, racing down the corridor to the Map Room. He ran in and punched Bracewell hard on the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

“Doctor!” Amy exclaimed, appalled as the Time Lord shook his hand in pain.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” Melanie said rather shocked at the fact he just punched Bracewell. What was he thinking? The guy was an android for god sake! That had to have hurt.

“Ow! Sorry, Professor, you're a bomb! An inconceivably massive Dalek bomb”, the Doctor said kneeling down next to him.

“What?” Bracewell asked shocked.

“There's an Oblivion Continuum inside you. A captured wormhole that provides perpetual power. Detonate that, and the Earth will bleed through into another dimension” the Doctor explained quickly “Now keep down”

He flashed his sonic over Bracewell’s torso to open it up. “Well?” Amy asked as one of the five blue segments of the circle turned yellow.

“I dunno know, I dunno know, I dunno know” the Doctor said panicking. He had good reason to be. His Bonded was in the room with a very powerful bomb that could destroy the Earth “Never seen one up close before”

“So what, they've wired him up to detonate?” Melanie questioned.

“Oh no, not wired him up. He _is_ a bomb” the Doctor corrected her “Walking, talking” he made an exploding sound effect “exploding! The moment that flashes red”

“There's…a blue wire or something you have to cut, isn't there?” Amy offered, trying to help “There's always a blue wire” the Doctor stood up “Or a red one”

“You're not helping!” he snapped.

“She’s trying to help”, Melanie said.

“I know, I know”, the Doctor muttered. He felt bad for snapping at Amy, he knew she was trying to help but he was too worried about the current danger to his Bonded to be polite.

“It's incredible. He talked to us about his memories. The Great War…”Churchill said looking down at Bracewell in wonder.

“Someone else's stolen thoughts, implanted in a positronic brain”, the Doctor said, tossing the sonic back and forth between his hands, his mind and hearts racing as he tried to figure out how to disarm Bracewell “Tell me about it. Bracewell. Tell me about your life!” he knelt back down.

“Doctor, I really don't think this is the time!”

“Tell me, and prove you're human. Tell me everything”, the Doctor ordered. If Bracewell believed that he was human then the bomb wouldn’t explode. Or at least he really hoped that was the case.

One of the sections was already red, the second segment of the circle now turned yellow.

“My family ran the Post Office. It's a little place just near the abbey, just by the ash trees. There used to be eight trees but…but there was a storm”, Bracewell said in a strained voice.

“And your parents? Come on, tell me”, the Doctor encouraged.

“Good people. Kind people. They died. Scarlet fever”, Bracewell told them, tears in his eyes. Melanie stuck her hand in her pocket and once again took hold of the figurine within.

“What was that like? How did it feel? How did it make you feel, Edwin? Tell me. Tell me now”, the Doctor urged.

“It hurt. It hurt, Doctor, it hurt so badly” Amy took hold of Melanie’s hand as she saw the brunette tear up “It was like a wound. I thought it was worse than a wound. Like I'd been emptied out” Melanie closed her eyes, tears slipping down her face “There was nothing left”, Bracewell said as he cried, remembering.

The second segment of the circle turn red, the third turning yellow.

“Good. Remember it now, Edwin” the Doctor pressed “The ash trees by the Post Office and your mum and dad, and losing them, and men in the trenches you saw die…Remember it. Feel it. You feel it because you're human” the third segment turns red “You're not like them. You're not like the Daleks!”

“It hurts, Doctor! It hurts so much!” Bracewell gasped as he continued to cry. Melanie tightened her grip around the figurine that she could feel the porcelain digging into her palm and opened her eyes.

“Good! Good! Good! Brilliant! Embrace it” the fourth section turned red “That means you're alive! They cannot explode that bomb, you're a human being! You are flesh and blood! They cannot explode that bomb! Believe it! You are Professor Edwin Bracewell! And you, my friend, are a human being!” the fifth section turned yellow “It's not working! I can't stop it!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“Go on”, Melanie said to Amy, seeing the look on her face “help him”. The ginger woman let go of her hand, went over and knelt beside Bracewell.

“Hey” she said softly “Ever fancied someone you know you shouldn't?”

“W…what?” Bracewell looked at her.

“It hurts, doesn't it?” Amy asked, the last segment of the circle remained yellow “But kind of a good hurt”

“I really shouldn't talk about her”, Bracewell said. 

“Oh. There's a her”, Amy teased with a smile as the fifth section turned back to blue.

“What was her name?” the Doctor asked seeing where Amy was going.

“Dorabella”, Bracewell breathed out.

“That’s a beautiful name”, Melanie commented kneeling beside the Doctor “What was she like, Edwin?”

“Oh…such a smile…And her eyes….Her eyes were so blue…Almost violet, like the last touch of sunset on the edge of the world….Dorabella…” Bracewell sighed with a dreamy look on his face. Then all the segments turned blue.

“Welcome to the human race”, the Doctor said happy that the bomb had been disarmed. He glanced at Melanie, his smile dropping at the sight of tear stains on her cheeks. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Parents”, she replied simply. The Doctor’s eye widened at that, realising she’d lost her parents too. Bracewell talking about losing his made her remember. And he didn’t exactly help either by urging Bracewell to talk about it.

“Elle I’m sorry”, the Doctor breathed putting his arms around her “I’m so sorry”. Melanie closed her eyes, seeking the comfort his embrace provided.

\------------

As a new day dawned over London, the Air Raid Warden and a few troops raised the flagpole with a Union Flag. Once it was upright, they all saluted it proudly.

In the Map Room, things were a lot quieter. “So, what now, then?” Amy asked Churchill.

“I still have a war to run, Miss Pond”, the man replied.

“Prime Minister” a young woman handed over some papers to Churchill.

“Oh, thank you” he read the document “Oh, they hit the Palace and Saint Paul's again. Fire crews only just saved it” Churchill reported right before Breen burst into tears.

“Is she okay?” Amy asked looking over at the woman, concerned.

“What?” Churchill asked looking up from the papers.

“She looks very upset” Amy gestured over to Breen who was being comforted by another woman.

“Oh, Miss Breen? Her young man didn't make it, I'm afraid. Just got word. Shot down over the Channel” Churchill explained sadly “Where's the Doctor? And Miss Hannigan?”

“Tying up loose ends”, the Doctor called walking in with Melanie, holding her hand. He’d barley let go of her since Bracewell told them that the Daleks had gotten away “I’ve taken out all the alien tech Bracewell put in”.

“Won't you reconsider, Doctor? Those Spitfires would win me the war in twenty hours”, Churchill pleaded.

“Exactly”, the Doctor said knowing that the war had to continue on for a few more years, like it’s supposed to.

“But why not? Why can't we put an end to all this misery?” Churchill questioned wondering why the Doctor would be against him having all that amazing technology.

“Oh, it doesn't work like that, Winston, and it's going to be tough” the Doctor said truthfully “There are terrible days to come. The darkest days. But you can do it. You know you can”

“Stay with us, and help us win through. The world needs you” Churchill knew what a valuable ally the Doctor would be for their cause.

“The world doesn't need me”, the Doctor said. _There is someone who needs me more_ he thought looking at Melanie from the corner of his eye.

“No?” Churchill looked less than convinced.

“The world's got Winston Spencer Churchill”, the Doctor said with a smile making the ‘v for victory’ sign.

“It's been a pleasure, Doctor, as always” Churchill put the papers down on the desk.

“Too right”, the Doctor agreed. Churchill opened his arms and the Doctor let go of Melanie’s hand so he could give the man a hug.

“Goodbye, Doctor”

“Oh, shall we say adieu?” the Doctor said and they ended the hug. Churchill turned to Melanie.

“Goodbye Miss Hannigan”, he said. Melanie stepped up and hugged the man.

“It has honestly been an honour to meet you”, she said honestly as she stepped back. Churchill smiled at her before moving onto Amy.

“Goodbye, Miss Pond”

“It's…it's been amazing, meeting you”, Amy said gripping her hands under her chin.

“I'm sure it has”, Churchill said as the ginger kissed his cheek. After they’d separated, Churchill turned and started to walk away. That is until Amy called after him

“Oi, Churchill. TARDIS key” she held out her hand “the one you just took from the Doctor”. The Doctor looked at her surprised but when he checked for the key in her pockets, he came up empty.

Churchill turned back “Oh, she's good, Doctor. As sharp as a pin. Almost as sharp as me” he put his hand in his pocket and frowned when he couldn’t find it. Melanie smiled and held up the key.

“Took it from your pocket when we hugged”, she said giving it back to the Doctor. Who still had a surprised look on his face. 

“Very good Miss Hannigan”, Churchill said with a smile “KBO”, he added before turning and walking out of the room to get back to the war.

“Look like Mels isn’t the only pickpocket”, Amy remarked.

“Don’t worry I only use my powers for the forces of good”, Melanie assured them getting a laugh out of the Doctor and Amy.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before leaving, the trio stopped off at Bracewell’s lab. “I've been expecting you, Doctor. I knew this moment had to come”, Bracewell said when he noticed them enter.

“Moment?” the Doctor asked.

“It's time to deactivate me” Melanie and Amy looked at the Doctor wondering if he was going to de-activate him. Despite him being Dalek technology, he wasn’t a danger to anyone.

“Is…it? Oh….yeah” the Doctor nodded his head slowly.

“You have no choice. I'm Dalek technology. Can't allow me to go pottering around down here where I have no business”, Bracewell said.

“No, you're dead right, Professor” the Doctor agreed “A hundred percent right. And by the time I get back here in what, ten minutes?” he looked at Melanie and Amy, giving them a wink so they _knew_ he wasn’t going to deactivate Bracewell.

“More like fifteen”, Amy corrected him, playing along.

“Fifteen minutes, yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. You are going to be so de-activated. It's going be like you've never even been…activated”

“Yeah”, Melanie said nodding.

“Fifteen minutes?” Bracewell repeated.

“More like twenty, if I'm honest. Once Pond, Elle and I see to the urgent thing…we've got to see to. The…the…see?” the Doctor said giving him a pointed look.

“Very well, Doctor. I shall wait here and prepare myself”, Bracewell said standing up straight. The Doctor, Amy and Melanie exchanged looks. Bracewell still hadn’t gotten the hint.

“That Dalek tech a bit slow on the uptake”, Amy said quietly to the Doctor and Melanie, who nodded in agreement.

“That thing we've got to do, going to take half an hour, realistically, isn't it, Doctor?” the brunette asked.

“Easily! So no running off, that's what I'm saying. Don't go trying to find that little Post Office with the ash trees or that girl…what was her name?”

“Dorabella”, Bracewell answered confused, wondering why he was bringing all this up.

“Dorabella. On no account go looking for her. Mind you, you can get a lot done in half an hour”

Bracewell laughed in delight as he _finally_ realized what they were trying to tell him. “Thank you. Thank you, Doctor!” he said happily.

“Come along, Pond, Elle”, the Doctor said taking Melanie’s hand and they walked out of the room.

“So, you have enemies then?” Amy commented as they approached the TARDIS.

“Everyone's got enemies”, The Doctor replied leaning against the TARDIS, Melanie leaning against him as he put his arm around her waist.

“Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got, like, you know, arch-enemies”, Amy said leaning against the TARDIS also.

“Suppose so”, he agreed.

“And here's me thinking we'd just be running through time, being daft and fixing stuff. But no, it's dangerous”, Amy said looking at him.

“Yep. Very”, the Doctor admitted “Is that a problem?” he asked more to Melanie

“I…don’t think it is”, she confessed. While it had been a hell of a day, one she didn’t care to repeat, she couldn’t deny how incredible it was have met Winston Churchill. She could think of a few people who would literally kill to have the opportunity.

“Me neither”, Amy agreed “You're worried about the Daleks”, she added after a moment of silence.

“I'm always worried about the Daleks”, the Doctor said honestly, his arm tightening slightly around Melanie.

“It'll take time though, won't it? I mean, there's still not many of them. They'll need a while to build themselves up”, Amy said trying to see a positive about the situation.

“It's not that. There's something else. Something we've forgotten” the Doctor looked at her over Melanie’s head “Or rather you have”

“Me?” Amy asked in confusion.

“You didn't know them, Amy. You'd never seen them before. And like Elle, you should have done” the Doctor said in a grave voice “You should” and with that he let go of Melanie, unlocked the TARDIS and stepped inside. Melanie entered next, followed by a still confused Amy.

\------------

“Elle what’s wrong?” the Doctor asked seeing the look on her face as she fiddled with her fingers while she sat on the jump seat. Amy had gone off to find herself a bedroom saying that she was rather tired.

“Amy. She didn’t remember the Daleks. But I did”, Melanie replied “I remember every single detail. Every explosion…every scream….every…death”. The Doctor sat down and took her shaking hands in his and listened to what she’d seen that day. She was vague about some details, like where she’d escaped from and who this ‘he’ was but it was something else he was learning about her. Though if he had to be honest, he’d rather find out a happy fact rather than the pain she’d endured. However, it was giving him more of an understanding of what she’d been through.

The Doctor put his arms around her as she sobbed uncontrollably, his hearts breaking for the hell she’d been through. “Elle I’m sorry. I’m so sorry”, he said quietly. As he held her, he made a promise to himself to help her deal with her demons. He also vowed that from here on out, he was going to do whatever it took to make sure that she was safe and happy.

It took a while but eventually Melanie had no more tears to shed, leaving her feeling exhausted. Seeing this, the Doctor stood up, pulled her to her feet before scooping her up and carrying her to her room. He set her down on the bed, helping her get her boots and cardigan off. Melanie grabbed his wrist when he started to move away after pulling the duvet over her “please stay Doctor. I don’t want to be alone”, she said quietly.

The Doctor’s hearts constricted at the tone of her voice. “Ok, I’ll stay”, he agreed. He took off his tweed jacket and boots before slipping under the duvet. Melanie rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. The Doctor put his arms around her and closed his own eyes.


	4. Time of the Angels

The Doctor was the first one out of the pair to wake. He glanced down at Melanie smiling softly at how peaceful she looked as she slept. She had woken up a few times during the night due to having nightmares which of course had disturbed him. Not that he minded, he completely understood her having nightmares. In her postion, he would be having them too. Whenever she woke, he would hold her and whisper assurances to calm her down.

The Doctor laid there wide awake not wanting to move as he didn’t want to disturb her. He didn’t have to wait long before Melanie started to stir. “Morning”, she said after she opened her eyes, looking up at him.

“Morning”, the Doctor said, a soft smile on his lips.

Melanie sat up allowing the Doctor to do the same “thanks for staying with me”, she said appreciating the fact that he _did_ stay with her even though she disturbed him several times during the night which she felt bad about “And I’m sorry for disturbing you”, she added.

“You don’t need to apologise Elle” the Doctor said “It not your fault”.

“Still…I feel kinda bad about it”, Melanie said quietly.

“Don’t be. Now, how about some breakfast?” the Doctor got out of bed and pulled on his jacket and shoes.

“Sounds good to me”, Melanie said sliding out of bed “just need to freshen up first. Shouldn’t be too long”.

“Take as long as you need”, the Doctor said heading for the door. He paused when a group of photographs on the wall caught his eye. “Is this you with your parents?” he asked looking at them.

“Yes it is”, Melanie replied coming over to stand next to him “that was our first trip to the Museum of Natural History”.

“You looked like you enjoyed yourselves”, the Doctor remarked taking in the smiling faces in the photos.

“Yeah we did”, Melanie agreed “we’d often go to museums, at least three times year”.

“You must love them”, the Time Lord commented.

“Absolutely! Some of the stuff they have is amazing. And you always learn something, even if it’s something small”, Melanie said a smile appearing on her face as she remembered those trips. Hearing that she enjoyed going to museums gave the Doctor the idea of where to go next, the Delerium Archive. As it was the biggest museum ever, he was pretty confident that his Bonded would love it.

“Right! Breakfast”, the Doctor said rubbing his hands together eager to get going. The sooner they ate, the sooner they would get to the museum “Any requests?”

“You’re going to make me breakfast?” Melanie asked surprised.

“Yep”, the Doctor replied popping the p “so what would you like?”

Melanie thought for a moment about what kind of things she liked for breakfast. Normally it was a simple bowl of cereal but as the Doctor was kindly going to make it for her, she had to think of something else. “Pancakes”, she said “banana pancakes”. That had always been her favourite as a little girl. Her dad would make them on Pancake Day and he would let her help out. Which usually ended up with a big mess in the kitchen. Her mother was never cross about it though because they were having fun.

“Banana pancakes it is”, the Doctor said with a nod and then left the room. Melanie got out a change of clothes from the chest of drawers that the TARDIS had provided and went into the small ensuite for a shower. After a quick shower Melanie changed into a pair of dark blue jeans, purple t-shirt with a butterflies dancing across it and a black cardigan. She finished off the outfit with a pair of black boots and her damp hair was pulled back in her preferred style as it hid the scar on her neck. The one on her face she couldn’t do too much about but then again, the Doctor had seen her marks on her face and neck. However, he hadn’t seen the extent of her uncle’s treatment of her which she was very grateful. Though she’d told him a little of what had happened, she wasn’t ready to show him the physical reminders other than the ones he was aware of.

\--------------------

Melanie entered the kitchen a few minutes later, thanks to the help of the TARDIS, to find the kitchen counter the Doctor was standing by looking rather like her kitchen used to whenever she and her dad did any baking. The floor around him was also dotted with batter as was the walls. “Having fun?” she asked walking over. As she did so, she noticed a couple of pans with what appeared to be burnt bits in.

“Not really”, the Doctor grumbled “I thought this was supposed to be easy but I can’t seem to do it”. He was rather annoyed by that fact as he wanted to do something nice for Melanie but he kept mucking it up!

“My mum was the same”, Melanie shrugged off her cardigan “she couldn’t do them either. So every Pancake Day, my dad made the pancakes” she hung up her cardigan and put on the spare apron “he let me help out, although we ended up making as much mess as you” Melanie tied up her apron and walked back over to the Doctor “so don’t worry about it. We’ll do the pancakes together, ok?” she said.

The Doctor nodded “ok. So whats first?”

“First we need a clean bowl and some more ingredients”, she replied and proceed to tell him exactly what was needed to make Banana pancakes. While the Doctor got all the ingredients together, Melanie shifted some stuff around on the counter so they had room to work.

“What’s next?” the Doctor asked as he brought all the stuff over.

“You mash up the Banana into the bowl with a fork”, Melanie instructed “and I’ll beat the eggs”. The Doctor handed over two medium eggs to her and she turned to the spot where she was going to be working only to realise that she didn’t have a mug to beat the eggs in. Melanie set the eggs carefully, turned to the Doctor to find that he was holding out a mug with a fork inside. “Thanks”, she said taking it from him. She cracked open the eggs into the mug, using the fork to beat them as the Doctor mashed up the Banana.

“I think this is done”, the Doctor said after effectively mashing the whole banana into a puree.

“Yep I’d say so”, Melanie agreed as she took a look. She added the eggs to the banana as well as a pinch of baking powder and a splash of vanilla extract. “Do you want to mix it?” she asked holding out a spoon.

“Maybe you should, you’d make less mess”, the Doctor replied.

“Fine”, Melanie said putting the spoon into the bowl. As the Time Lord watched her mix the stuff into a batter, a sly grin crept onto his face. He watched her carefully for the right moment, reached out his hand towards the bowl and… smack! Melanie slapped his hand away without even looking. “My dad used to do the same thing whenever I was making cakes or something for school” she looked at him “but I got wise to his game and I could tell that it was something you’d do too” And with that she turned her attention back to her mixing, moving away so she could finish it without having to stop the Doctor. The Doctor was a bit put out by the fact that Melanie had managed to stop him, therefore spoiling his fun. But she soon had him smiling again when she allowed him to flip the pancakes.

When Amy walked in about half an hour later, she found the Doctor and Melanie laughing as they stood by the sink washing up dishes at the same time as having a mini water fight. “Morning you two”, Amy said catching their attention.

“Morn-Doctor!” Melanie exclaimed as the Time Lord bopped her nose with a bubble covered finger as she started to speak to Amy, leaving behind some bubbles on the end of her nose. The Doctor laughed as he danced away, dodging the sopping wet sponge Melanie threw at him.

“You two are such children”, Amy remarked shaking her head at them. It was nice to see her best friend looking so relaxed around the Time Lord.

“It’s better than being an adult”, Melanie countered “some of the time at least”.

“Definitely”, the Doctor agreed.

**\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

A couple of hours later, the Doctor and Melanie strolled through the Delerium Archive together, though not holding hands. The Time Lord was a little disappointed but did his best not to show it. Her mood had shifted a little not long after their impromptu water fight and she didn’t seem to want to share which he completely understood. His Bonded sadly had several demons and it was her choice whether or not to open up to him…and he really wished she would.

However, Melanie did seem to brighten up when she saw where they were. The Doctor was right in choosing to take her to the biggest museum known to anyone. Amy trailed behind the pair, less than thrilled about where they were but seeing as her friend was happy, she kept her comments to herself.

“Wrong!” the Doctor said pointing at a random object “Wrong!” 

“What about this one?” Melanie asked looking at something in one of the display cases.

“Bit right” the Doctor told her “but mostly wrong. I love museums”. 

“Me too”, Melanie agreed “that’s why you chose the biggest museum ever as our next trip”.

“Yep”, the Doctor said “so what do you think then?”

“I love it, it’s brilliant! Thank you”, Melanie said, giving him arm a delighted squeeze before quickly letting go.

“You’re welcome Elle”, the Doctor said and then he walked over to another display “Wrong!” he shouted “Very wrong!” looking at the items inside.

“Could we go to a planet after this?” Amy asked wanting to do something more interesting than wander around museums.

“I don’t see why not”, Melanie replied glancing back at her as the Doctor took her over to a small display in the middle of the room.

“Ooo, one of mine”, the Doctor said looking at a bunch of miniatures.

“Doctor, do you recon we could go to a planet after this?” Melanie asked, repeating Amy’s question.

“Course we can”, he answered. The Doctor pointed at another item “That’s also one of mine”. He turned to the next display and did a double take at the item inside.

“What is it?” Melanie asked they walked over to it, the Doctor staring at the symbols etched on top.

“It’s an old box Elle”, Amy said unimpressed.

“It's from one of the old starliners. A Home Box”, the Doctor corrected her.

“What's a Home Box?” Melanie asked wanting to know more.

“Like a black box on a plane, except it homes” the Doctor explained “Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home with all the flight data”.

“So?” Amy asked not seeing why he was so interested in the Home Box with some weird writing on it.

“The writing, the graffiti. Old High Gallifreyan” the Doctor told the women “The lost language of the Time Lords. There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple gods”.

“What does it say?” Melanie asked very interested.

“Hello, sweetie”, the Doctor replied before whipping out his sonic and using it to break the lock on the case. He snatched up the Home Box and without thinking he grabbed Melanie’s hand before taking off towards the TARDIS. Amy ran after them. Thankfully the trio managed to get into the ship just before the guards reached them.

The Doctor ran up to the console, pulling a lever to send them into the vortex. Once that was done he proceeded to hook up the Home Box to the console. “Why are we doing this?” Amy asked watching him work.

“Cos someone on a spaceship twelve thousand years ago is trying to attract my attention” the Doctor replied fixing the last wire into the box “let’s see if we can get the security playback working”. 

A grainy black and white image began to play on the scanner. They watched as a curly haired woman in a formal dress pulled down her sunglasses and winked at the camera. The image changed to show the woman with her back now to the camera.

“The party's over, Doctor Song…” a man spoke off camera “…yet still you're on board”.

The woman turned around “Sorry, Alistair” she said, not sounding sorry at all “I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination”.

“Wait till she runs” Alistair ordered “Don't make it look like an execution”.

Doctor River Song glanced at her watch “Triple-seven five slash, three, four, nine by ten” the Doctor, Amy and Melanie exchanged looks “Zero twelve slash acorn. Oh, and I could do with an air corridor”. 

“What was that? What did she say?” Amy asked as the Doctor started to type on the keyboard.

“Coordinates”, the Doctor replied. Amy and Melanie turned their attention back to the scanner as River spoke again.

“Like I said on the dance floor, you might want to find something to hang on to”. Suddenly the door was blown outwards, sucking the woman out of the ship. The Doctor rushed to the TARDIS’ door and pulled it open. He reached out for River, grasping her hand and yanked her inside, both of them falling to the floor.

The pair got to their feet, turning to the open doors in time to see the ship that River had just escaped from, fly away. “Follow that ship!” the curly haired woman ordered. Melanie and Amy clung onto the console as the Doctor and River frantically worked at the controls. “They've gone into warp drive, we're losing them! Stay close!” River said noticing this on the scanner.

“I'm trying!” the Doctor shouted as he worked.

“Use the stabilisers”, River ordered.

“There aren't any stabilisers”, the Doctor retorted.

“The blue switches”, River said nodding to the blue buttons near the Doctor. 

“Oh, the blue ones don't do anything, they're just…blue”, the Doctor said waving her off.

“Yes, they're blue. They're the blue stabilisers!” River reached over and pressed them. Almost immediately the ship became quiet and still “See?”

“Yeah. Well, it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers. They're blue boring-ers”, the Doctor said annoyed. He liked it when the TARDIS shook as he piloted it. Made it much more fun.

“Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS?” Amy asked making her way to stand next to him.

“You call that flying the TARDIS?” the Doctor said going over to the jump seat, flopping down on it in a sulk “Ha!”

Though he brightened up when Melanie sat next to him “I prefer your way, it’s more fun”, she said earning a smile from him.

“Thanks Elle”, he said. The Doctor went to put his arm around her waist, like he’d done before but he stopped himself. He didn’t want to make his Bonded too uncomfortable. It was better to let her make the first move.

“Ok. I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and parked us right alongside”, River explained.

“I didn’t understand a word you just said but it sounds pretty impressive Miss…” Melanie started

“River Song”, River offered, glancing at her. She noted that she was sitting beside the Doctor but she wasn’t that close to him which meant it was very early for them.

“Parked us?” the Doctor scoffed “We haven't landed”.

“Of course we've landed” River corrected “ _I_ just landed her”.

The Doctor stood up “But, it didn't make the noise”, he almost whined.

“What noise?” River asked.

“You know, the…” the Doctor imitated the wheezing noise.

“It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on”, River said.

“Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise” the Doctor retorted “I love that noise” he ran over to the doors “Come along, Elle, Pond. Let's have a look”.

“No, wait. Environment checks”, River called.

“Oh yes, sorry. Quite right. Environment checks” much to Melanie’s surprise, the Doctor opened the door and stuck his head out.

“Nice out”, the Doctor commented pulling his head back in.

“We're somewhere in the Garn Belt”, River said looking at the scanner “There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest that…”

“We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System” the Doctor cut in quickly “Oxygen rich atmosphere, all toxins in the soft band, eleven hour day and…” he stuck his head out of the door again “chances of rain later”.

River rolled her eyes and turned to Amy and Melanie “He thinks he's _so_ hot when he does that”, she said giving Melanie a knowing look. The brunette responded with a slightly confused expression wondering why River had just given her a knowing look. Did she know something about hers and the Doctor’s future? About them being Bonded?

“How come you can fly the TARDIS?” Amy asked as the Doctor walked up the steps.

“Oh, I had lessons from the very best”, River replied.

“Well, yeah”, the Doctor began smugly.

“It's a shame you were busy that day” River said causing the Doctor’s smug look to be wiped off his face. River picked up her high heels from where she’d hung them on the scanner and headed for the door “Right then, why did they land here?”

“They didn't land”, the Doctor called after her.

“Sorry?” River asked as she walked.

“You should've checked the Home Box. It crashed”, the Doctor said following her. River stepped outside the doors which the Doctor quickly closed behind her and rushed back to the console.

“Explain!” Amy demanded “Who is that and how did she do that museum thing?”

“It's a long story and I don't know most of it” the Doctor replied, working at the controls “Off we go!”

“What are you doing?” Melanie asked with a frown. Was he really planning to leave River stranded on the planet?

“Leaving” the Doctor answered, still working at the controls “She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go”.

“Are you basically running away?” Amy questioned.

“Yep” the Doctor nodded.

“Why?” Amy asked.

“Because she's the future”, the Doctor replied. He couldn’t add the fact that River was a part of his personal future, not with his Bonded right there.

“Can you run away from that?” Amy asked curiously.

“I can run away from anything I like”, the Doctor told her. And he had done exactly that on a number of occasions. However, there was someone now that he wouldn’t run away from, his Bonded Melanie Hannigan. “Time is not the boss of me”.

“Hang on, is that a planet out there?” Melanie suddenly piped up.

“Yes, of course it's a planet”

“You did say that we’d go to a planet after the museum”, she reminded him.

“Yes I did”, the Doctor said.

“So can we have a quick look around? Say 5 minutes?” Amy asked looking at him hopefully. The Doctor glanced between both women and sighed knowing he wasn’t going to win this one.

“Okay, five minutes”, he reluctantly agreed.

“Yes!” Amy cheered and grabbed Melanie’s hand, rushing for the door.

“But that's all, because I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging me into anything!” the Doctor called as he followed after them. They all stepped out onto a beach littered with debris from the crashed spaceship, some of the pieces on fire.

“What caused it to crash?” River asked looking up at the burning wreck of the once sleek spaceship that was partly sticking out of an old stone carved building “Not me”.

“Nah, the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it”, the Doctor replied “According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase shift. No survivors”.

“A phase shift would have to be sabotage” River sighed “I did warn them”.

“About what?” Melanie asked.

“Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries” River said taking out a device from her purse and started typing something into it.

“You know, I'm nobody's taxi service!” the Doctor said grumpily “I'm not going to be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a space ship”.

“And you are _so_ wrong” River looked at the ship “There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die” she looked back to see the Doctor looking curious “Now he's listening!” she lifted the device in her hands up to her ear and spoke “You lot in orbit yet? Yeah, I saw it land. I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal” River walked off a little ways away and held up her device but the signal was too weak.

She turned around “Doctor, can you sonic me?” she called “I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon”. The Doctor took out his sonic from his pocket and does what she asked, though rather reluctantly. River dropped into a small curtsey and continued signalling whoever she was contacting.

“Ooh, Doctor, you _soniced_ her”, Amy teased.

“We have a minute” River called motioning them over “Shall we?” the trio walk over to her as she got out an slightly battered book that, in Melanie’s opinion, looked kinda like the TARDIS. “Where are we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?” River asked after flipping through a few pages.

“What's the book?” Amy asked curious.

“Stay away from it”, the Doctor warned her.

“But what is it though?” Amy asked, not one to give up.

“Her diary”, the Doctor replied.

“ _Our_ diary”, River corrected.

“We keep meeting in the wrong order”, The Doctor told Amy and Melanie “that diary is the way she keeps track”. A moment later five columns of swirling ‘dust’ appeared turning into four soldiers in desert camouflage and one young man with ginger hair.

One of the soldier’s along with the ginger haired man walked up to River. The Doctor looked at the ginger haired male as he came to a stop in front of them. There was something about him that seemed almost familiar. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was but he knew it was probably going to bother him until he figured it out.

“You promised me an army, Doctor Song”, the solider said to the woman.

“Actually she promised the _equivalent_ of an army Father Octavian”, the ginger haired man, Orion, corrected, speaking in a Scottish accent “there’s a big difference between an army and the equivalent of one”.

“Yes, thank you Mr Hanson”, Octavian said, his tone to the others sounding like he was annoyed.

“You’re welcome”, Orion said cheekily. He glanced at his mother wishing that he could tell her about her uncle, that he was no longer going to be a threat. But he couldn’t. Not yet at least.

“This is the Doctor”, River said nodding to the Time Lord. The alien in question gave a light-hearted salute.

“Orion Hanson. Nice to meet you Doctor”, Orion said holding his hand out and the Doctor shook it. He turned to Amy and Melanie “and you are?”

“This is Amy Pond and I’m Melanie Hannigan”, Melanie said. Orion shook both of their hands as well.

“Father Octavian, Sir” Octavian reached out and shook the Doctor’s hand “Bishop, second class. Twenty clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation. Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?”

“Doctor, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?” River asked. The Doctor immediately tensed up at those words. He wasn’t the only one, Orion looked distinctly uneasy as well.

~Night~

Octavian strode across the ground with the Doctor following him. Amy trailed behind at a slight distance so the Time Lord wouldn’t know she was there. She felt a little bad of leaving Melanie by the TARDIS but she was curious about these Weeping Angel things. Melanie would forgive her for slipping away or at least she hoped the brunette would. “The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship. Our mission is to get inside and neutralise it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to this…” he showed the Doctor a map on a similar device that River had “behind the cliff face there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up”.

“Oh, good”, the Doctor said looking at the cliff face, thinking about how not good it was.

“Good, sir?” Octavian asked.

“Catacombs, probably dark ones, dark catacombs. Great”, the Time Lord grumbled.

“Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead”, Octavian corrected him.

“You can stop any time you like”, the Doctor said turning to him. He was already on edge as it was and Octavian wasn’t helping. The one thing he could be thankful for is that Melanie and Amy were safe in the TARDIS. The thought his Bonded climbing through the wreckage of the ship, being exposed to radiation to search for a creature that can kill by displacing you in time…made his hearts constrict. Not only that, it gave him a sick feeling even thinking about it.

“Father Octavian?” a soldier called.

“Excuse me, sir” and with that Octavian turned and walked away. Once he’d gone, Amy decided that it was time to announce her presence.

“You're letting people call you sir. You never do that”, she remarked as she moved to sit on a table beside some equipment “So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?”

“Now that's interesting…” the Doctor looked up at her “You're still here. Which part of wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe was so confusing?”

“Ooo, you are all Mister Grumpy Face today”, Amy said with a fake pout.

“Tell me you at least made sure Elle got into the TARDIS before you wandered off”, the Doctor said giving her a look.

“Of course I did”, Amy lied, feeling bad for doing that. But if she told him the truth, he would’ve gotten even crosser with her.

“Good”, the Doctor said. Although he wasn’t happy that Amy didn’t do as he said, at least Melanie was safe. As the ginger was going to be participating on their mission, he decided that she should know exactly what she was about to face. “A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and right now one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch, and assuming I survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in my face, do something incredibly clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day. That's what I'm up to. Any questions?”

“Is River Song your wife?” Amy asked. Although she’d seen the Doctor show little displays of affection toward Melanie, she couldn’t help but think of the possibility that River Song _was_ his wife. She was from his future and the way she spoke to the Doctor… it was hard not to at least consider the possibility “Cos she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kind of like, you know, ‘heel, boy’. She's Mrs Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she going to be your wife one day?”

Before the Doctor could tell her that it was impossible for River to be his wife because he already had a Bonded, when they heard the young woman in question shout

“Amelia Jessica Pond!”

The Doctor and Amy turn to see a not too happy Melanie storm up to them, followed by Orion. “Why on Earth did you think it would be a good idea to slip away? The Doctor specifically told us to wait in the TARDIS”, the brunette said crossly folding her arms and giving her friend a look.

“Elle I’m sorry for slipping away but I was really curious”

“Curiosity killed the cat Amelia”, Melanie shot back.

Amy flinched at her use of her full name. She stood up “Elle I am really, really sorry for slipping away. I _was_ curious but I didn’t want to tell you what I was going to do because I knew the Doctor would’ve wanted you safe” she gestured to the Doctor who nodded in agreement.

“It’s true. While I don’t appreciate Amy not doing what I told her to do, I can understand why she wouldn’t want to tell you” the Doctor stepped forward and took her hands “because I do want you safe Elle”. 

Melanie looked into his green eyes, feeling her anger slowly dissipate. She took a deep calming breath before looking over at Amy “I accept your apology Ames. Just don’t wander off like that again”, she said making sure to say the latter part sternly.

“I promise I won’t Elle”, Amy said relaxing now that her friend had calmed down.

“Also don’t lie to me about her whereabouts”, the Doctor added giving her a look saying that he wasn’t entirely happy she did that but wasn’t going to have a go at her for it.

Amy nodded “of course, no lies on her whereabouts”, she agreed.

River stepped out of the drop module, now dressed in the same desert camouflage as the other soldiers “Doctor! Orion! Father Octavian!” she called before going back inside.

“Why do they call him Father?” Amy asked as they all walked over to the drop module.

“He's their Bishop, they're his Clerics”, Orion replied.

“But they’re soldiers”, Melanie pointed out.

“It's the fifty first Century Elle. The Church has moved on”, the Doctor told her.

They all entered the drop module to see black and white footage of a Weeping Angel on a screen. Its back was towards them, hands over its eyes. “What do you think?” River asked as she controlled the footage with a remote “It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop”

The six of them watched the four seconds played over, a small blip of static in the middle of the loop.

“Yeah, it's an Angel” the Doctor confirmed “Hands covering its face”.

“You've encountered the Angels before?” Octavian asked.

“Once, on Earth, a long time ago” the Doctor explained “But those were scavengers, barely surviving”.

“But it's just a statue”, Amy said looking at the Angel confused. How could a statue be dangerous?

“It's a statue when you see it”, River said.

“Where did it come from?” the Doctor asked.

“Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since. Dormant all that time”, River answered.

“There's a difference between dormant and patient”, the Time Lord corrected her.

“What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it?” Melanie asked not understanding.

“The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it”, Orion replied.

“No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock” the Doctor corrected him “In the sight of any living creature the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defence mechanism”

“What, being a stone?” Amy questioned with a frown.

“Being a stone…until you turn your back”, the Doctor said. He then turned and walked out of the drop module, the others following him. “The hyperdrive would've split on impact” he said eyeing the ship as he walked “that whole ship's going to be flooded with drive burn radiation, cracked electrons, gravity storms. Deadly to almost any living thing”

“Deadly to an Angel?” Octavian asked hopefully.

“Dinner to an Angel. The longer we leave it there, the stronger it will grow” the Doctor said and turned to River “Who built that temple? Are they still around?” he asked.

“The Aplans” River answered looking down at her device “Indigenous life form. They died out four hundred years ago”

“Two hundred years later, the planet was terraformed. Currently there are six billion human colonists”, Orion added.

“You lot, you're everywhere! You're like rabbits! I'll never get done saving you”, the Doctor commented with an amused smile.

“Sir, if there is a clear and present danger to the local population…” Octavian began.

“Oh, there is” the Doctor said seriously “Bad as it gets. Bishop, lock and load!”

“Verger, how are we doing with those explosives?” Octavian asked walking past the Doctor “Mr Hanson, Doctor Song, with me”

“Two minutes” River said before walking over to the equipment table while Orion followed Octavian. “Sweetie, I need you”, the curly haired woman called to the Time Lord.

‘Sweetie’ the Doctor mouthed confused to start with before he realised that River was talking about him. He turned and walked over to the equipment table “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes”, he said to Melanie and Amy as he passed by them.

The two women went back into the drop module in order to wait for him and noticed the slight change in the Angel on the screen. It was slightly looking over its shoulder, hands no longer covering its face. “That’s strange”, Amy commented “I thought they only had one clip of the Angel on a loop”.

“Yeah, I’m sure they did”, Melanie agreed “hang on”, she said and went over to the open doorway. “River!” she called leaning out “Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?”

“No, just the four seconds”, River replied.

“What did she say?” Amy asked glancing back at Melanie as she stepped back.

“She says there’s only one clip”, the brunette replied. Amy looked back at the screen and was startled to see that the Angel was now facing forwards. “Elle, the Angel’s moved again”, she said. Melanie rushed over, her eyes widening when she saw this.

“That can’t be”, she breathed. Melanie leant forward and peered closely at the time code and frowned when she saw it loop around from 11:24 to 11:28 “four seconds. It’s the same four seconds over and over”. As she peered at the time code and as Amy looked at the screen, the door slid shut behind them and locked.

“If it’s the same four seconds of footage, how is the Angel moving?” Amy asked as Melanie straightened up.

“I don’t know”, she replied “but I think we should try turning the screen off”, she suggested “If the screen is off then the clip can’t play”.

“And if the clip can’t play then the Angel won’t be able to move”, Amy nodded understanding her reasoning. She picked up the remote from the table, pointed it at the screen and pressed the button. It switches off but turns itself back on almost immediately. Amy tried a couple more times with the same result.

Melanie took the remote and tried to turn it off but the same thing happened to her as well. “Ok, plan b”, she said putting the remote down.

“Plan b?” Amy asked.

“Pull the plug”, Melanie said and walked up to the monitor. She bent down, grasped the power cord and gave it a yank but it didn’t budge.

“Elle…the Angel’s moved again”, Amy said starting to feel a little scared. Melanie looked up and saw the Angel very close to the camera. Startled, she jumped to her feet.

“Door. Now!” Melanie ordered. They ran to the door and tried to get it open but they couldn’t. It was like the door was locked. The pair glanced back at the screen and saw the Angel snarling at them, fangs showing.

“Doctor!” Amy and Melanie shouted together.

~Camp~

“This whole book, it's a warning about the Weeping Angels” the Doctor said “so why no-“ he broke off suddenly when he felt a flash of fear followed by a scream in his head. “Elle!” he shouted dropping the book and rushing over to the drop module, banging on the door “What's happening?”

~drop module~

“The Angel’s in the room!” Melanie shouted “It's coming out of the television!” she and Amy had tried to open the door again which meant they’d both taken their eyes off of the Angel. When they glanced back at it, they saw a hazy projection of the Angel in the middle of the room.

~Camp~

“Don't take your eyes off it! Keep looking” the Doctor ordered as he flashed his sonic on the keypad “It can't move if you're looking”

“What's wrong?” River asked seeing the angry look on the Time Lord’s face as he glared at the keypad.

“Deadlocked”, the Doctor replied.

“There is no deadlock”, River told him as she tried to override the controls.

“Don't blink, Elle! Amy! Don't even blink!” the Doctor shouted moving over to a small box on the side of the unit.

“What are you doing?” River questioned as he frantically tried to sonic the box.

“Cutting the power. It's using the screen, I'm turning the screen off” the Doctor explained “No good, it's deadlocked the whole system”.

“There's no deadlock”, River told him.

“There is now!” the Doctor snapped, his hearts hammering in his chest. His Bonded, his terrified Bonded was trapped with a Weeping Angel. He had to get in there! He _needed_ to get in there! “Can you turn the screen off?” he asked going up to the door.

~Drop module~

“We tried”, Amy called as she and Melanie stared at the Angel, backs pressed against the door, absolutely terrified.

“Try again. But don't take your eyes off the Angel”, the Doctor told them.

“We’re not!” Amy and Melanie shouted.

~camp~

“What’s happening?” Orion shouted as he ran up. He’d heard the Doctor shouting and hurried over to see him and River trying to get inside the drop module. The Time Lord using his sonic while the blonde used the torch setting on her gun to try and cut through the door.

“Amy and Elle are trapped inside with a Weeping Angel”, River replied causing Orion’s eyes to widen “and apparently there’s a deadlock on the door”. _I hope I’ve got it on me_ he thought as he stuck his hand inside his pocket and dug around. He smiled when his hand closed around the item he was searching for. Orion withdrew his hand, producing a small handheld blowtorch. He turned it on, went over to stand beside River and held the small blue flame against the door.

~drop module~

Amy and Melanie slowly edged forward keeping their eyes fixed on the Angel. “Amy get the remote, I’ll watch the Angel”, Melanie told her. Amy nodded, turning to the table and grabbed the remote. She made sure to blink a couple of times before going back to where Melanie stood.

“I’ve got it. You can blink Elle”, Amy said staring at the Angel. The brunette blinked gratefully as her eyes had started to water from staring at the Angel for too long. “It just keeps switching back on!” Amy called as she tried to use the remote to switch the Angel off again.

“Yeah, it's the Angel”, the Doctor called back.

“But it's just a recording!” Melanie shouted not understanding how the recording of a Weeping Angel could become Weeping Angel.

~Camp~

“No, anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel” the Doctor corrected her. “What are you doing?” he asked River and Orion who were still trying to cut through the metal door with their blowtorches.

“We’re trying to cut through”, River replied.

“It's not even warm”, Orion added.

“There is no way in. It's not physically possible”, the Doctor said, his hearts still hammering away in his chest. He couldn’t give up! There had to be some way to get into the drop module!

~Drop module~

“Doctor, what's it going to do to us?” Amy asked fearfully as she and Melanie continued to stare at the Angel.

~Camp~

“Just keep looking at it. Don't stop looking”, the Doctor urged them.

“Doctor please tell us”, Melanie pleaded “please”. The Doctor could hear in the tone of her voice how scared she was. He ran over to where he dropped the book. The Doctor picked it up and ran back to the drop module flicking though the book as he went. “Elle, Amy, not the eyes. Look at the Angel but don't look at the eyes”, the Doctor told them.

~Drop module~

“Why?” Amy asked as she and Melanie stared at the Angel, right where the Doctor told them not to, the eyes.

~Camp~

“What is it?” Orion asked knowing the Doctor told them not to look in the eyes on the Angel for a reason.

“’The eyes are not the windows of the soul. They are the doors. Beware what may enter there’” the Doctor said reading that section in the book aloud.

~Drop module~

“Doctor, what did you say?” Melanie asked trying to look elsewhere on the Angel but found her gaze being drawn back to its eyes.

“Don't look at the eyes!” the Doctor shouted.

“What did you say about images?” Amy asked having not quiet heard what the Doctor had said.

“Whatever holds the image of an Angel, is an Angel”, River called.

“Ok…hold this” keeping her gaze fixed on the Angel, Amy raised the remote “One, two, three, four….” She pressed pause on the remote just as the tape reached the blip. The projection froze before flickering off, the screen powering down as well. The door burst open as the Doctor ran in, immediately going over to Melanie, checking her over before hugging her tightly. He felt himself calm slightly as he held her, his hearts going back to their normal rhythm. Orion smiled very relieved to see that both Melanie and Amy was ok.

River looked Amy over, making sure she was ok before giving the ginger a quick hug. “I froze it. There was a sort of blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip”, Amy explained when they stepped away “It wasn't the image of an Angel any more. That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good” she smiled both in relief and proud of herself.

“It was more than good Ames. It was brilliant”, Melanie said looking over at her as the Doctor continued to hug her, not that she minded or anything.

“Very clever”, River said smiling at the young woman.

“So it was here?” Orion asked as the Doctor finally stepped away from Melanie, going over to the monitor and pulling out the plug “That was the Angel?”

“That was a _projection_ of the Angel”, the Doctor replied “It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant”.

Suddenly there was an explosion outside making them all jump. The Doctor ran to the door and looked out. “It’s gone positive!” a cleric said to Octavian.

“Doctor!” Octavian shouted “we’re through!”

The Doctor nodded and looked back at River, Amy, Melanie and Orion. Although he did a double take when he looked at the Scottish male. On his face a pair of square frame glasses which made him look rather a lot like his previous self. But a younger version. And with ginger hair. Was that why Orion looked so familiar to him earlier because he looked like a younger version of his tenth self? How was this possible? Was it just a coincidence? Or… a crazy thought flittered across his mind…was Orion somehow his son? No, he couldn’t be. If he was his son it would mean he’d be a Time Lord and he didn’t sense anything like that from him. It must be a coincidence. Had to be.

He was broken from his thoughts when Melanie stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm “Doctor are you ok?” she asked looking worried. He’d just stood there staring at Orion for a couple of minutes.

“I’m fine Elle”, the Doctor replied looking at her, completely missing River and Orion exchanging glances.

“Are you sure?” Melanie questioned.

“Yes I’m sure. Now we better go before Father Octavian calls us again” and with that he took Melanie’s hand and walked out of the drop module. The brunette didn’t pull her hand away as in all honesty, she was still rather shaken up.

\--------------

One by one they all climbed down a rope ladder into the Maze of the Dead. When Melanie reached the bottom rung, a cleric stepped up to help her down but the Doctor stopped him. “No touching my Elle”, he said sternly before stepping up and helping her down himself.

“That’s a tiny bit possessive”, Melanie whispered to him.

“Sorry”, the Doctor said, mentally kicking himself for calling her his, though technically it was true since she was his Bonded.

“No, its ok”, the brunette said quickly “I’m just not used to it, that’s all”, she admitted “not used to being anyone’s anything in a good way”.

“I know”, the Time Lord said softly, taking her hand “but I just want you to know that I will always look after you and I’ll stay by your side, no matter what”, he vowed. Melanie gave him a smile, happy tears pricking in her eyes. She flung her arms around him.

“Thank you”, she whispered.

“You’re welcome”, the Doctor said, hugging her back. Orion, having heard and seen this where he stood looking around with his torch, smiled to himself.

“Octavian, did we bring a gravity globe?” he asked, glancing at the man.

“Yes we did”, he replied and turned to his clerics “Grav globe” he ordered. One of the clerics took a white sphere out of a pack and handed it over to Octavian who passed it onto Orion.

“Where are we? What is this?” Amy questioned flashing her own torch around.

“It's an Aplan Mortarium, sometimes called a ‘Maze of the Dead’”, River replied looking around with her own torch.

“What's that?” Melanie asked feeling a little uneasy about being in a place called a ‘Maze of the Dead’. Orion kicked the Grav globe into the air where it stopped and bathed the cave in a white light, allowing them all to see the vast number of statues on the various levels.

“The perfect hiding place for a Weeping Angel”, the Doctor said, answering Melanie’s question.

“I guess this makes it a bit trickier”, Octavian commented taking in all the statues.

“That’s a bit of an understatement”, Melanie muttered eyeing the statues uneasily. _How are we supposed to find a Weeping Angel amongst all these statues? It’s like playing ‘Where’s Wally’, except with a deadly garden ornament._

“A stone Angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for”, Octavian continued as if she hadn’t spoken.

“A needle in a haystack”, River said.

“A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle of death. A hay-alike needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues…” the Doctor managed to say before Orion cut in with

“Doctor, you’re scaring your companions”. He’d noticed Amy and Melanie grow more uneasy as the Doctor continued to talk. He didn’t blame them though, he wasn’t a big fan a Weeping Angel’s either.

The Doctor glanced at both Amy and Melanie and could tell by the looks on their faces, that Orion was right. “Sorry”, he said apologetically. The situation they were currently in was scary enough, the last thing he wanted to do was to make it worse. He needed to remember to think before he spoke, which if he had to be honest was easier said than done because it seemed like this version of him might be a bit of rambler, just like his previous self.

“Right” Octavian nodded, taking charge, turning to his clerics “Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection” he turned back to the Doctor “One question: How do we fight it?” he asked.

“We find it, and hope”, the Doctor replied, picking up a couple of torches and giving one to Melanie. He then took her other hand and walked off, Amy following them.

The ginger paused when she once more felt something in her eye. She rubbed the corner of her eye with her finger and frowned when she saw grit on it. Amy then rubbed hand over her eye, sand and grit falling between her fingers. She pulled her hand away and stared at it but there was nothing there. _Must be imagining things_ she thought.

“You all right?” River asked coming to stand next to her, having noticed the woman stare at her hand.

“Yeah, I'm fine”, Amy replied “So, what's a Maze of the Dead?” she asked as Orion joined them.

“Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds” River answered “It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls” when Amy gave her a look, she added “Okay that was fairly bad”.

“Amy hold out your arm for me, I need to give you an injection”, Orion said pulling out a syringe from his pocket. Slightly puzzled as to why she needed an injection, Amy held out her arm. Orion pushed up the sleeve of her red hoody “This won't hurt a bit”, he said before injecting Amy with the syringe.

“Ow!” Amy cried as it did hurt.

“There, you see. I lied”, Orion said putting the syringe back into one of his pockets “mum’s always told me it’s wrong to lie but dad says it’s ok to lie under certain circumstances. It’s like one of his rules or something. Anyway what I’ve just injected you with is a viro-stabiliser. Stabilises your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship”.

Amy looked at the Doctor who was currently examining a statue with his torch, Melanie standing next to him. “So what's he like?” she asked “In the future, I mean. Because you know him in the future, don't you?” She was rather curious to know more about the Doctor and who better to tell her than River Song, the woman supposedly from the Doctor’s future.

“Well, the Doctor's…the Doctor”, River said vaguely looking at the pair ahead of them. Orion had to smile at how the Doctor was trying to take readings with the device the wrong way around. That action alone told him, the Time Lord was listening in on the conversation. Melanie on the other hand, had turned her attention to another statue, examining it closely with her torch.

“Oh, well, that's _very_ helpful” Amy said sarcastically. She’d been hoping for something a little less vague from the woman “Mind if I write that down?” 

“Yes, we are”, River suddenly called out catching the pair’s attention.

“Sorry, what?” Melanie asked turning to her, having not heard a word they’d said because unlike the Doctor, she hadn’t been listening in.

“Talking about you”, River said.

“Me?” Melanie asked confused, it was like she’d been brought into the middle of a conversation she hadn’t even been aware of.

“Not you Elle, the Doctor”, Orion clarified.

“I wasn't listening, I'm busy”, the Doctor said not looking up from the device. Both River and Orion knew that he was clearly listening to their conversation.

“The other way up”, River told him. They all watched the Doctor turn the device the right way up.

“Oh yeah”, he said as if he didn’t realise he’d been trying to take readings with the device the wrong way around. Melanie shook her head at him.

“That’s what happens when you eavesdrop, you end up doing things wrong”, she said before turning her attention back to the other statues.

“You're _so_ his wife”, Amy said quietly to River. Orion looked at her, trying very hard to mask the expression that wanted to appear on his face at the thought of River being the Doctor’s wife. River on the other hand just gave Amy an amused smile, mainly to disguise the fact that she wanted to grimace at the thought of being the Doctor’s wife.

“Oh Amy, it would be impossible to be his wife as I’m not his Bonded”, River said earning a confused look from the ginger.

“What’s a Bonded?” Amy asked.

“It’s a very special person who’s meant for you, and you alone. You are connected to them in the heart, mind and soul”, Orion explained.

“Sounds like a soulmate”, Amy remarked. To be that deeply connected to another sounded rather beautiful to her.

“It’s the Time Lord version of a soulmate”, River said.

“So…you two know who his Bonded is then”, Amy said looking at both Orion and River. Part of her was wondering if she was the Doctor’s Bonded as it had been _her_ garden that the TARDIS crash landed in all those years ago. Another part of her was wondering if it was possibly Melanie as the Doctor had been showing some displays of affection towards her friend. Though she was secretly hoping it was herself instead of Melanie, despite being engaged to Rory.

“Oh, we definitely know who she is”, River smirked, exchanging a knowing look with Orion before they both purposefully look over at Melanie and the Doctor. Amy followed their gaze and frowned. Why were they looking at Melanie that way? Was it because she was the Doctor’s Bonded? Amy really hoped that wasn’t the case.

Suddenly gunfire sounded, causing all four of them to run back into the main chamber of the Maze of the Dead. One of the clerics had fired at a statue “Sorry, sorry. I thought…I thought it looked at me”, the young man said apologetically, looking clearly shaken up.

“We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?” Octavian asked the cleric.

“No, sir”, the cleric replied.

“No, sir, it is not! According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil, so it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of décor”, Octavian said.

Melanie frowned at how Octavian reprimanded the young man. She could understand him being a little on edge, she’d feel the same way in his postion. “What's your name?” she asked.

“Bob, ma’am”, he answered.

“Ah, that's a great name” the Doctor smiled “I love Bob”.

“It's a Sacred Name” Octavian added “We all have Sacred Names. They're given to us in the service of the Church”.

The Doctor walked over to the pair “Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now, eh?” he asked with a smile.

“Yes, sir”, Bob admitted looking down.

“It’s not such a bad thing. My dad once said that scared is a superpower. It allows you to run faster and fight harder”, Orion spoke up.

“Your dad’s right”, the Doctor agreed, completely missing the amused smile on Orion’s face as he was still facing Bob “scared does keep you fast. And anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron. Carry on”. The Doctor turned back to Melanie, Amy, River and Orion.

“We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes” Octavian called to the other clerics before turning to Bob “You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach”.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Isn't there a chance this lot's just going to collapse?” Amy asked looking around at the caverns above them as they walked “There's a whole ship up there”.

“The Aplans are very good builders Amy. No chance of collapse”, Orion assured her.

“Had dinner with their Chief Architect once”, the Doctor spoke up “Two heads are better than one”.

“What, you mean you helped him?” Melanie asked.

“No, I mean he had two heads”, the Doctor clarified “That book, the very end, what did it say?” he asked River.

River pulled the book out of her pack and opened it, Orion looking over her shoulder at the passage “’What if we had ideas that could think for themselves?’” she read aloud “’What if one day our dreams no longer needed us?’”

 _If that did happen, that would be one terrifying day_ Amy thought, shifting uneasily on the spot.

“’When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us” Orion said, picking up where River left off “The time of Angels’”.

 _Like that’s not ominous at all…_ Melanie thought feeling even more uneasy, if that was even possible. What she was unaware of was the fact that the Doctor had heard her thought, just like on the Dalek ship AND similarly at the camp. Now he was certain that they had a mental connection. All he had to do now was to strengthen it. Though it was going to take some time and care in doing so given Melanie’s reaction to them being Bonded.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Elle what is it?” Orion asked when Melanie paused to stare at one of the statues for the second time during their ascent. He’d dropped back to join her after she’d stopped the first time, thinking that she was getting tired. It was a long walk after all.

“There’s something wrong Orion”, she replied looking intently at the statue “I don’t know what it is yet but there is definitely something wrong”. She didn’t know why she had this feeling there was something off about the statues but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

“Yeah I’m getting that feeling too”, Orion agreed. He felt like something was also staring him in the face but like Melanie, he couldn’t figure out what it was “whatever’s wrong we’ll figure it out together, ok?” Orion said earning a smile from the brunette.

“Thanks Orion”, Melanie said and started to walk again. Orion followed after her but not before casting a glance back at the statue.

\--------------

“Are we there yet?” Amy asked when they reached the fourth level “It's a hell of a climb”. Melanie had to agree with her, she was starting to feel the ache in her legs and she loved walking. Though she didn’t complain as she was too preoccupied as she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“The Maze is on six levels, representing the ascent of the soul”, River explained “Only two levels to go”.

“Lovely species, the Aplans” the Doctor remarked “We should visit them some time”.

“I thought they were all dead?” Amy asked with a frown.

“So is Virginia Woolf”, the Doctor pointed out “I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head”.

At the back of the group, Melanie stopped dead, her eyes widening as it finally hit her. She now knew what was wrong. “Guys stop”, Orion said loudly as he noticed that Melanie was no longer following them. “Elle what is it?” he asked going over to her, taking note of how scared she was.

“I know what’s wrong Orion”, she replied, her voice shaky. 

“What’s wrong?” the Doctor asked concerned. Something had made her very afraid and he didn’t like it.

“One head. The statues only have _one_ head”, Melanie said emphasising the word one. 

Orion glanced at the nearest statue and saw that she was right. _How did I not notice that before?_ “She’s right. They do only have one head”, he confirmed. The Doctor and River flashed their torches at the statues, seeing exactly what Melanie had noticed.

“How could we have not noticed that?” River asked wondering how they’d missed something as obvious as the lack of a second head on the statues.

“Low level perception filter” the Doctor guessed “Or maybe we're thick”.

“What's wrong, sir?” Octavian asked wondering why the Time Lord along with River, Melanie and Orion were looking so worried.

“Nobody move” the Doctor ordered trying to stay calm despite the fact that his hearts where starting to beat faster at the fact that all of them, including Melanie was in terrible danger “Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are” the Doctor looked at Octavian “Bishop, I am truly sorry” he said apologetically “I've made a mistake and we are all in terrible danger”.

“What danger?” Octavian asked still not getting why they were so worried.

“The Aplans have two heads” Orion reminded him “So why don't the statues?”

With those words, everyone who hadn’t noticed before suddenly noticed the lack of a second head on all of the statues. “Everyone, over there” the Doctor nodded at the spot where there wasn’t any statues “Just move. Don't ask questions, don't speak”.

Everyone moved over to the spot he indicated while the Doctor kept his eyes trained on the statues “Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches”, he said after he’d moved backed up to join the group, not once taking his eyes off the statues.

“Sir?” Octavian questioned. It didn’t seem like the best idea to him.

“Just do it”, the Doctor said. One by one they turned off their torches, though Melanie was a little hesitant to do so. Orion took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze to let her know that he was right there with her. That he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. The brunette took a breath and turned off her torch. “Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment”, the Doctor told them all.

“Are you sure about this?” River asked him.

“No”, the Doctor answered honestly. He didn’t want to turn his light off but he had to make sure. The Doctor switched his torch off for a split second and then back on again. All the statues in front of them had turned to face them.

“Oh, my God. They've moved”, Amy gasped. Melanie tightened her grip on Orion’s hand as everyone else turned their torches on too, flashing them around at the statues.

The Doctor ran down the passageway, his eyes darting from statue to statue. He stopped when he saw one of the statues on the floor arm outstretched. “They're Angels! All of them!” he declared.

“But they can't be”, River shook her head, she and Amy having followed him. Melanie on the other hand, stayed with Orion.

“Clerics, keep watching them”, Orion ordered having heard what the Doctor had said from where he stood with the other clerics, tugging Melanie behind him.

The Doctor, Amy and River moved along the passage way and looked down at the statues they’d passed on the way up. They were no longer standing upright instead they were in crouched positions, crawling towards the travellers. “Every statue in this Maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel” the Doctor said looking at them all “They're coming after us”.

Knowing this fact, the Doctor rushed back to the others. All the clerics had their eyes and weapons trained on the statues. Orion was watching the statues too with, the Doctor was glad to see, Melanie safely behind him. At least he knew there was someone else present who would protect her.

“But there was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear”, River insisted.

“Could they have been here already?” Amy asked looking at the statues, flashing her torch between each one.

“The Aplans. What happened? How did they die out?” the Doctor questioned turning to River.

“Nobody knows”, River answered.

“We know”, the Doctor said nodding to the statues.

“They don't look like Angels”, Octavian remarked eyeing them, noting the distinct lack of wings on the statues.

“And they're not fast” Amy added “You said they were fast. They should have had us by now”.

“Look at them. They're dying, losing their form” the Doctor said with his torch trained on one of the statues “They must have been down here for centuries, starving”.

“Losing their image” Melanie put in, looking out from behind Orion’s back. She had tried to stand next to him but every time she attempted to do so, he just stopped her. So Melanie stayed put, standing behind Orion.

“And their image is their power”, the Doctor said “Power” the Doctor’s eyes widened in realization “Power!” 

“Doctor?” Amy asked.

“Don't you see? All that radiation spilling out the drive burn. The crash of the Byzantium wasn't an accident, it was a rescue mission for the Angels” the Doctor explained. He turned to look at the statues “We're in the middle of an army, and it's waking up”, he said, his hearts hammering away in his chest as his thoughts turned to the fact that he’d just unknowingly walked his Bonded straight into danger. He had to get her out of here!

“We need to get out of here fast”, River said. _Couldn’t agree more_ the Doctor thought, his mind going through ways to get them out of their current situation.

“Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please” Octavian called into his radio “Any of you, come in”.

“It's Bob, sir” Bob answered “Sorry, sir”.

“Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you?” Octavian asked “All the statues are active” he warned “I repeat, all the statues are active!”

“I know, sir” Bob said “Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir”.

Upon hearing that, the Doctor snatched Octavian’s radio from his hands “Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor”, he said speaking into it.

“I'm talking to…” Octavian began.

“Where are you now?” the Doctor asked, ignoring Octavian.

“I'm talking to my…” the bishop tried again.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up”, the Doctor snapped at him.

“That’s a bit rude”, Melanie muttered having heard him from where she stood “what?” she asked seeing Orion seemingly smile at her words.

“Nothing”, he said. Melanie raised an eyebrow. Clearly it wasn’t _nothing_. He found something amusing it what she just said, but she didn’t bother to press him about it turning her attention back to the Doctor who was standing there, Octavian’s radio in his hand. 

“I'm on my way up to you, sir” Bob informed the Time Lord through the radio “I'm homing in on your signal”

“Ah, well done, Bob” the Doctor smiled “Scared keeps you fast. Told you, didn't I? Your friends, Bob. What did the Angel do to them?” 

“Snapped their necks, sir”, Bob answered making the Doctor frown.

“That's not how the Angels kill you” he stated “They displace you in time…unless they needed the bodies for something”.

Octavian took the radio from the Doctor “Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs?” he asked the cleric “We may be able to initiate a rescue plan”. He didn’t want to believe that they had been killed by the Angel, they had to be still alive.

The Doctor snatched the radio back again “Oh, don't be an idiot!” he snapped “The Angels don't leave you alive!” the Doctor brought the radio to his mouth and spoke “Bob, keep running. But tell me, how did you escape?”

“I didn't escape, sir” Bob informed him “The Angel killed me, too”. Those words got another frown from the Doctor.

“What do you mean, the Angel killed you?” he asked.

“Snapped my neck, sir” Bob said “Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something”

 _If Bob is dead how can he be talking to the Doctor?_ Melanie thought confused. Once again the Doctor heard her thoughts. Like before, he heard it very clearly as if she’d been saying the question out loud.

 _Very good question Elle_ “If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?” the Doctor asked reiterating the words from Melanie’s thought.

“You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you” Bob explained “Sorry about the confusion”, he added sounding apologetic.

“So when you say you're on your way up to us…” the Doctor began.

“It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes”, Bob confirmed.

“No way out”, the Doctor muttered.

“Then we get out through the wreckage”, Octavian stated “Go!”

The clerics ran past Octavian and the Doctor to head towards the wreckage of the Byzantium. River followed after them, Orion closely behind making sure to keep a tight hold on Melanie’s hand as they ran.

The group stopped running when they reached an open chamber. “Well. There it is, the Byzantium”, Octavian said looking up at the underside of the ship, several feet above them.

Melanie looked up at it “that’s quite a way up”, she remarked before she winced from the sudden sharp pain in her head.

“You alright?” Orion asked having seen her wince.

“Yeah, fine”, Melanie replied, the sharp pain in her head having vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She was hoping that wasn’t the beginning of a headache. That was the last thing she needed right now.

The ginger haired man nodded and looked up at the wreck “that’s at least 30 feet up”, he estimated. 

“How do we get up there?” River asked.

Octavian turned to his remaining clerics “Check all these exits. I want them all secure”, he ordered and the men moved off to do so.

“Well I suppose now is a good time as any to give you a viro-stabilizer”, Orion said turning his attention back to Melanie.

“What’s that?” Melanie asked as he produced a syringe from his pocket.

“It’ll keep you protected from radiation and drive burn when we get up into the ship”, he replied. Melanie pushed up her cardigan sleeve, held up her arm and flinched when he injected her. “Sorry”, Orion said apologetically pocketing the empty syringe “but it is necessary”.

“I understand Orion”, the brunette informed him as she pulled down her sleeve. It was at this point that she noticed the Doctor and Amy were missing “Where’s the Doctor and Amy?” she asked worriedly.

“I’ll go look for them”, Orion said and turned to River “River…”

“I’ll keep an eye on Elle”, she said “just be careful”.

Orion gave the curly haired woman a grin “don’t worry River, I’m always careful”, he assured her before walking off.

“Why do I get the feeling that isn’t the case?” Melanie asked.

“Orion never means to get into trouble, he just seems to have a way of stumbling into it. Or it finds him”, River replied “just like his father” she added with a fond smile.

“You know Orion’s dad quite well then”

“Oh, I do Elle. His mother too”, River told her. Melanie was about ask her some more questions when all torches started flickering, the grav globe above doing the exact same thing. One of the cleric’s hurried back to the group.

“The statues are advancing along all corridors” he informed them “And, sir, my torch keeps flickering”

“They all do”, Octavian said seriously.

“So does the gravity globe”, River added glancing up at it.

“Clerics, we're down to four men. Expect incoming”, Octavian told his men. A moment later the Doctor, Amy and Orion joined them.

“You guys ok?” Melanie asked the Doctor and Amy.

“Yeah we’re fine”, Amy replied not wanting to tell her friend about how she thought her hand was stone as she didn’t want to worry her.

“For the moment at least”, the Doctor added “the Angels are coming and they're draining the power for themselves”.

“Which means we won't be able to see them”, Octavian concluded. _You don’t say_ Melanie thought sarcastically. Once again this thought was heard by the Doctor.

“So we can’t stay here”, the Doctor said flashing his torch around for any possible way out.

“Two more incoming”, Orion said noticing two Angels appear at the entrance to one of the tunnels.

“Any suggestions?” River asked the Doctor.

“The statues are advancing on all sides” Octavian said looking up at the Byzantium “We don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium”.

“There's no way up, no way back, no way out” River concluded having had a quick assessment of their situation and their surroundings. She looked at the Doctor “No pressure, but this is usually when you have a really good idea”

“There's always a way out”, the Doctor said, his voice echoing around the chamber “There's always a way out”, he repeated. All the lights flickered off for a split second and when they came back on, more Angels had appeared.

“Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?” Angel Bob’s voice called through the radio.

“Hello, Angels. What's your problem?” the Doctor said holding the radio near his mouth.

“Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir”, Angel Bob said apologetically.

“Why are you telling me this?” the Doctor asked.

“There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end”

“Which is?” the Doctor asked.

“I died in fear”, Angel Bob said.

“I'm sorry?”

“You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down”, Angel Bob said.

“What are they doing?” Melanie said quietly to River seeing how tense and angry the Doctor was getting. She couldn’t be positive but she thought she felt a flash of anger from the Time Lord.

“They're trying to make him angry”, River replied equally quietly.

“I'm sorry, sir” Angel Bob said still apologetic “The Angels were very keen for you to know that”.

“Well then, the Angels have made their third mistake because I'm not going to let that pass” the Doctor said, his voice even trying to hide how angry he actually was from everyone else “I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier”.

“But you're trapped, sir, and about to die”

“Yeah, I'm trapped” the Doctor said looking around, making sure that his plan was going to work. It _had_ to work. There was no way he was going to let his Bonded and the rest of them be killed by Weeping Angels. “And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got two great big mistakes in it. Two great big, whopping mistakes!”

“What mistakes, sir?” Angel Bob asked. Ignoring him, the Doctor turned to Amy.

“Trust me?” he asked her.

“Yeah”, she replied.

He turned to River “Trust me?”

“Always”, River said with a smile, seeing that he had a plan.

The Doctor turned to Melanie “I trust you Doctor”, she said confidently also with a smile on her face. The Doctor returned her smile before turning his attention to Octavian, Orion and the other clerics.

“You lot, trust me?”

“We have faith, sir”, Octavian answered.

“I trust you too”, Orion added.

“Octavian, give me your gun” the man hands it over “I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous” _nothing new there_ Orion thought, supressing a smile “When I do…” the Doctor jumped on the spot “jump!”

“Jump where?” Octavian asked.

“Just jump, high as you can” the Doctor replied “Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal”

“What signal?”

“You won't miss it”, the Doctor said aiming the gun at the Byzantium.

“Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned two mistakes we made”, Angel Bob spoke up.

“Oh, big mistakes. Huge” the Doctor said into the radio “Firstly, you put my Bonded in danger and I _won’t_ have that, not now, not ever. Secondly, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap”

“And what would that be, sir?” Angel Bob asked.

“Me!” The Doctor shouted and fired at the grav globe and it explodes.

**To be continued….**


	5. Flesh and Stone

The Doctor was the first one to recover from their jump. “Up! Look up!” he ordered as he stood up, going over to where Melanie sat and helped her to her feet.

“Are you ok?” the Doctor asked her.

Melanie nodded “yeah, fine”, she replied.

“You ok Amy?” River asked helping her up.

“What happened?” the ginger questioned.

“We jumped”, River answered.

 _Well that was obvious_ Melanie thought knowing that was exactly what they just did. The question was _where_ did they jump to? “Jumped where?” she asked at the same time as Amy.

“Up, Up, Look up!” the Doctor repeated. Amy did so but still couldn’t understand. Melanie on the other hand looked up and immediately understood where they were.

“Well I’ll be… we’re on the hull of the ship”, she stated.

“Got it in one Elle”, Orion said giving her a smile.

“But how?” Amy questioned, confused as the Doctor crouched down, sonicing a circular hatch nearby.

“Oh, come on, Amy, think!” he said standing up “The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?” without waiting for an answer he continued “The artificial gravity. One good jump” he jumped on the spot “and up we fell. Shot out the grav globe to give us an updraft, and here we are”, the Doctor explained.

“Doctor, the statues. They look more like Angels now”, Octavian reported staring at the statues below.

“They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves”, the Doctor explained as he continued to sonic the hatch “Within an hour, they'll be an army!”

The hatch opened up to reveal the inside of the ship. Suddenly one of the lights surrounding the hatch, exploded with a bang. “They're taking out the lights”, the Doctor said “Look at them, Look at the Angels. Into the ship, now. Quickly, all of you!” and with that he dropped into the hole. Melanie sat down by the hatch and started to lower herself into the hole. The Doctor reached up, put his hands on her waist and helped her down the rest of the way.

“Doctor! Elle!” Amy called down to them.

“It's just a corridor”, the Doctor told her “The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. Don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!”

He walked over to a control panel, sonicing it as the others joined himself and Melanie. “The Angels. Presumably they can jump up too?” Octavian asked. The hatch closed the moment they all entered the ship, the lights flickering.

“They're here, now. In the dark, we're finished”, the Doctor stated feeling his hearts start to beat faster at the fact that the angels were getting closer to them, to Melanie. A bulkhead further along the corridor starts to close. “Run!” he shouted, grabbing Melanie’s hand and running for it, the others hot on their heels. Unfortunately they didn’t make it, the bulkhead closed trapping them.

“This whole place is a death trap!” Octavian shouted.

“No, it's a time bomb”, the Doctor corrected him trying to stay calm “Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end” he rambled “Nobody panic”. As he said that, there was a banging on the hatch which told them that the Angels were trying to break in. The Doctor looked around at everyone and saw apart from himself, Melanie was the only one who looked worried. “Oh, just me and Elle then. What's through here?” he asked gesturing to the bulkhead with his sonic.

“Secondary flight deck”, River replied.

“Ok” Amy nodded “so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?” she stated as River started to work on the panel near the bulkhead, trying to bypass the power “So what if the gravity fails?” Amy asked.

“I've thought about that”, the Doctor admitted.

“And?” Amy pressed.

“And we'll all plunge to our deaths”, he replied “See? I've thought about it” he turned to the door missing the look Melanie gave him “The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible”.

“How impossible?” River asked as she continued to work on the panel.

“Two minutes”, the Doctor replied.

The hum of the engines powered down and the hatch they entered through opened up. “The hull is breached and the power's failing”, Octavian stated. The lights went out for a brief moment and when they came back on, an Angel’s arm appeared at the entrance.

“Sir, incoming!” Marco called.

“Doctor! Lights”, Amy said reaching out and grasping Melanie’s hand as the lights go out again. The Doctor used his sonic on the panel that River had been working on. The lights come on briefly to reveal an Angel making its way inside. The lights go out again for the third time. When they came on again, they were much brighter than before. They also revealed that there were now four Angels in the corridor with them.

“Clerics, keep watching them”, Octavian ordered.

“And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes”, Orion added remembering what the Doctor had said about looking a Weeping Angel in the eyes.

“I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now”, the Doctor informed them all.

“Good work, Doctor”, Octavian praised.

“Yes. Good, good, good. Good in many ways. Good you like it so far…”

“So far?” Amy asked eye brows raised.

“Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control”, the Doctor said.

“Good, Fine, Do it”, Octavian ordered. He didn’t care what the Doctor had to do to get the bulkhead door open as long as he did it.

“Including the lights”, the Doctor added “All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights”.

“How long for?” Orion asked.

“Fraction of a second”, the Doctor replied fiddling with the sonic in his hands “Maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer”.

“Maybe?” Octavian asked, incredulous.

“I'm guessing”, the Doctor shot back “We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!”

He knew it wasn’t a good idea to get worked up but he couldn’t help it. His Bonded was on a ship with four Weeping Angels and only the four clerics and Orion standing between her and them. “But Doctor, we lost the torches”, Amy pointed out “We'll be in total darkness”.

“No other way”, the Doctor sighed and turned to Octavian “Bishop?”

“Doctor Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?” Octavian asked River.

“I absolutely trust him”, River replied.

“He's not some kind of madman, then?” Octavian continued.

“I absolutely trust him”, River repeated.

“Excuse me”, the Doctor said and went back to the door.

Octavian stepped closer to River “I'm taking your word, because you're the only one who can manage this guy”, he said quietly “But that only works so long as he doesn't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?”

“Understood”, River nodded.

Octavian gave her a brief nod and turned back to the Doctor “Ok, Doctor. We've got your back”, he said.

“Bless you Bishop”, the Doctor said as he took a bundle of wires from Melanie.

“Combat distance, ten feet”, Octavian ordered “As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol. We don't have bullets to waste”.

“Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns”, the Doctor instructed moving the ginger over to the door.

“Ten”, Amy nodded. Melanie winced as she got another sharp pain in her head. But no one noticed.

“No, four. Four turns”, the Doctor corrected her.

“Yeah, four. I heard you”, Amy repeated.

“Elle, help her”, the Doctor said, turning to her. Melanie nodded. He moved over to the panel by the door that he’d opened up to gain access to the circuits to the bulkhead. “Ready!” the Doctor called and placed the sonic into the circuit.

“On my count, then”, Octavian swallowed “God be with us all. Three…two…one” the lights went out “Fire!”

The clerics opened fire at the Weeping Angels. With each burst of fire, little flashes of light appeared showing the Angels moving closer and closer to the group. “Turn!” the Doctor shouted.

Melanie and Amy struggled to get the door open. River stepped up next to them and gave them a hand. “Doctor, its opening. It's working!” Amy said as the bulkhead started to open. The three females squeeze through the opening.

“Fall back!” Octavian ordered to his clerics. The clerics hurry through followed by Orion, Octavian and the Doctor. The bulkhead clangs shut behind the Time Lord. They ran down a similar corridor until they reached a door. Using his sonic, the Doctor opened the door and held it open so that everyone could get through.

“Doctor, quickly”, River called.

“Doctor!” Melanie shouted. The Doctor stops sonicing the panel and darts inside just as the bulkhead closed. The secondary flight deck was a mess, exposed wires all over the console. The Doctor and River ran over to the controls.

“Doctor!” Amy shouted as the door’s wheel started to spin. Octavian turned to the door and placed a device on it. 

“What are you doing?” Melanie asked as Octavian activated the device, stopping the wheel from turning.

“Magnetized the door”, Octavian replied “Nothing could turn that wheel now”.

“Yeah?” the Doctor asked looking up from the controls he was working at. The wheel turned though slower than before.

“Dear God!” Octavian gasped.

“Ah, now you're getting it!” the Doctor said “You've bought us time though. That's good. I am good with time”

“Doctor!” Melanie called as a wheel on another door to the right of the main one started to turn.

“Seal that door. Seal it now”, Octavian ordered and Macro complied.

“We're surrounded!” Melanie breathed grasping Orion’s arm as the wheel on the third door started to spin. It too was sealed with a device. The ginger male placed a hand over hers as a show of reassurance.

“It’s going to be ok Elle”, he assured her “I promise”.

“Doctor, how long have we got?” Octavian asked.

“Five minutes, max”, the Doctor replied.

“Nine”, Amy said. Melanie winced again getting yet another sharp pain in her head.

“You ok?” Orion asked as she rubbed her head due to the pain hanging around a fraction longer than the other two times.

“Uh yeah. Think I’ve got a headache coming on”, Melanie replied.

“We need another way out of here”, River stated.

“There isn't one”, Octavian said.

“Yeah, there is. Course there is”, the Doctor countered “This is a galaxy class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So…” he snapped his fingers “what do they need?”

“Of course”, River breathed, realising what he was getting at. The Doctor snapped his fingers again.

“Of course what? What do they need?” Amy asked not understanding. She wasn’t the only one, Melanie as a little confused too.

“Can we get in there?” Octavian questioned.

The Doctor turned to the back wall “Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow”, he explained. He pressed against various points on the wall saying “This whole wall should slide up” then he noticed the clamps “There's clamps. Release the clamps!” the Doctor flashed his sonic over the clamps.

“What's through there?” Amy asked “What do they need?”

“They need to breathe”, River told her. The Doctor smiled as the wall slowly rose upwards. Melanie and Amy stare, awestruck at the lush green forest that was revealed behind the wall.

“But that's….that's a….” Amy tried to say but couldn’t get the words out she was that amazed.

“It's an oxygen factory”, River said.

“It's a forest”, Melanie stated.

“Yeah, it's a forest. It's an oxygen factory”, River said.

“And if we're lucky, an escape route”, the Doctor added.

Amy smiled “Eight”, she agreed. Melanie closed her eyes, scrunching her face up as she rubbed her temples. These flashes of pain in her head were really starting to bother her. Orion watched her worriedly wondering if this was really a simple headache or something far worse.

“Is there another exit? Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there”, the Doctor said to Octavian.

“On it!” Octavian stepped into the forest “Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels”.

“But trees, on a space ship?” Amy asked as Melanie walked over to stand beside her. Orion stood close by watching her warily.

“Oh, more than trees. Way better than trees. You two are going to love this” the Doctor stepped into the forest “Tree _borgs_ ….” he opened a section of peat moss to reveal circuitry “Trees plus technology. Branches become cables become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship” the Doctor turned and walked back over to them “A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze. Have I impressed you two yet?”

Melanie nodded with a smile on her face, her aching head momentarily forgotten “yeah I am”, she replied “Treeborgs…” she laughed “wonders never cease”. The Doctor smiled, happy at her reaction.

Amy smiled too “Seven”, she chuckled. Melanie closed her eyes and rubbed her temples again getting another pain.

“Why did you say that?” she asked Amy, keeping her eyes shut, still rubbing her temples. The Doctor noted the way she’d reacted when Amy said seven.

“Say what?” Amy asked confused.

“Seven”, the Doctor said looking at Melanie with concern.

“No. I didn't”, Amy insisted.

“Yes. You did”, River spoke up.

“Elle, are you ok?” the Doctor asked still very concerned as his Bonded had yet to open her eyes.

“Not really”, she said honestly opening her eyes and looking at him “I’m having these flashes of pain in my head every so often and they’re getting worse each time”.

“Elle did you look into the eyes of the Angel? The one from that recording?” The Doctor asked. He needed to know if that was the case. If it was true then the Weeping Angels were going to be sorry for causing his Bonded pain.

Melanie nodded “I didn’t mean to”, she said quietly “I tried to look anywhere else, I really did! I’m so sorry Doctor”. The Doctor gently pulled her into a hug.

“It’s ok Elle”, he said softly “I don’t blame you”.

“Doctor”, Octavian called “there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck”.

“Oh, good. That's where we need to go”, the Doctor said not yet letting go of Melanie.

“Plotting a safe path now”, Octavian said.

“Quick as you like”, the Doctor called back.

The radio suddenly crackled to life “Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor?” the Doctor let go of Melanie to take the radio from his pocket “Angel Bob here, sir”

“Ah. There you are, Angel Bob”, the Doctor said going over to white chair and plopped down into it “How's life?” he asked “Sorry, bad subject”, he added though he wasn’t very sorry.

“The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve”, Angel Bob said.

“Achieve?” the Doctor asked “We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here”, he remarked “Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?”

“The Angels are feasting, sir”, Angel Bob said “Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world. And all the stars and worlds beyond”.

“Well, we've got comfy chairs”, the Doctor retorted “Did I mention?”

“We have no need of comfy chairs”, Angel Bob said.

The Doctor grinned “I made him say comfy chairs!”

Melanie smiled and shook her head. He was such a child sometimes! “Six”, Amy laughed and Melanie once again cringed in pain. Orion put an arm around the brunette and she leant against him. That was enough to make the Doctor jump to his feet, a serious look on his face.

“Okay, Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Amy and Elle?” he demanded.

“There is something in Amy and Elle’s eye”, Angel Bob replied.

“What's is it?” the Doctor questioned.

“We are”, Angel Bob said.

“What's he talking about?” Amy asked not understanding what was going on “Elle’s got a bad headache all of a sudden and I’m five” everyone stares at her except Melanie who had her eyes shut again, clutching her head, leaning even more onto Orion. The ginger man tightened his arm around her, very worried about her wellbeing.

“I mean, five”, Amy repeated. Then she realised what she’d just said “Fine! I'm fine”

“You're counting”, River said slowly.

“Counting?” Amy repeated.

“You're counting down from ten”, the Doctor said “You have been for a couple of minutes”.

“Why?” Amy asked.

“I don't know”, the Doctor replied.

“Well, counting down to what?” Amy demanded.

“I don't know. All I know is that whenever you count down…” the Doctor’s gaze shifted over to Melanie “Elle gets a flash of pain in her head”.

“We shall take Amy. We shall take Elle”, Angel Bob said “We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space”.

The Doctor raised the radio to his mouth “Get a life, Bob”, he snapped “Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much”.

“With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand”

A screeching sound echoed around the room forcing them all to cover their ears “Dear God, what is it?” River asked.

“They're back”, Octavian stated.

“It's hard to put in your terms, Doctor Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing”, Angel Bob told them.

“Laughing?” the Doctor asked with a frown.

“Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed”, Angel Bob said.

“Doctor…what is that?” Melanie asked pointing to a w shaped crack on the wall above the bulkhead door. The Doctor turned to see the crack, his eyes widening. He rushed over to it, Amy following him.

“That's…that's, that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl”, Amy breathed staring at it as it grew wider causing the room to shake.

“Yes”, the Doctor agreed. The room shook more violently, everyone having to grab hold of something to stay on their feet.

“Ok, enough. We're moving out”, Octavian said deciding they’d stayed there long enough.

“Agreed”, River said “Doctor?”

“Yeah, fine”, the Doctor said but he didn’t move. Instead he got out his sonic from his pocket and started using it on the crack.

“What are you doing?” River asked.

“Right with you”, the Doctor said not looking away from the crack nor did he stop scanning it with the sonic.

“We're not leaving without you!” Melanie said unwilling to go.

“Yes, you are” the Doctor glanced back at Melanie, River, Amy and Orion “Bishop?”

“Miss Pond, Miss Hannigan, Mr Hanson, Doctor Song, now!” Octavian shouted from the forest.

River grabbed Amy’s arm and pulled her away. Orion did the same to Melanie, though he had to hold her arm a little tighter as she tried to put up a bit of a fight. She didn’t want to leave her Bonded behind. 

\---------------------------------

Octavian and the clerics walk slowly through the forest keeping River, Amy and Melanie safely in the center. Orion stuck close to Melanie. He looked at her worriedly as she started to slow down, an almost sickly look on her face. Amy had the identical look on her face too as she slowed down as well.

“Orion…I feel sick”, Melanie managed to say. Orion wrapped an arm around her waist, allowing her to lean on him as they continued to walk.

When the group reached a clearing, both young woman looked a whole lot worse. “Amy, what's wrong?” River asked as the ginger started to sway on the spot.

“Four”, she said quietly. Melanie let out a cry as the pain in her head had reached agonising levels. She nearly collapsed if it wasn’t for the fact that Orion was practically holding her up. The brunette whimpered as Orion made her lay down on the ground. Amy was also lying down, curled up on a mossy tree trunk.

“Med scanner, now!” Orion and River ordered. A cleric gave them both a med scanner which they strapped onto each of the girl’s arms.

“Doctor Song, Mr Hanson we can't stay here. We've got to keep moving”, Octavian said.

“We wait for the Doctor”, River said firmly.

“Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels. Until that is achieved….”

“Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him and his Bonded alive long enough to get everyone else home”, River cut in “And trust me, it's not easy. Even with help. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And…Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?”

“Oh, yeah”, the Doctor replied with a smile though it quickly faded seeing the state both Melanie and Amy was in.

River stood up and faced him “I hate you”, she said.

“You don't”, the Doctor countered jumping off a log and coming over to Melanie’s side “Bishop, the Angels are in the forest”, he warned Octavian.

“We need visual contact on every line of approach”, Octavian called to his clerics.

“How did you get past them?” Orion asked him.

“I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe”, the Doctor replied.

“What was it?” Amy questioned.

“The end of the universe”, the Doctor deadpanned “Let's have a look, then”. He checked Melanie’s med scanner and then Amy’s.

“So, what's wrong with us?” Amy asked. Melanie opted to stay quiet as her head was hurting her too much to speak.

“Nothing. You're both fine”, River said not wanting to worry either of them, any more than they already were.

“Everything. You're both dying”, the Doctor said trying to ignore the clench in his hearts as he said that. It was supposed to be his job to protect his Bonded, to take care of her. And what a bang up job he’s done so far. The one woman meant solely for him was dying. As was his companion.

“Doctor!” River shouted.

“Yes, you're right. If we lie to them, they’ll get all better”, the Doctor shot back “Right, what's the matter with Amy and Elle? Something's in their eye. What does that mean? Doesn’t mean anything”.

“Doctor”, Amy murmured.

“Busy”, the Doctor said.

“Scared!”

“Course you're scared. You're dying. Shut up”, the Doctor said a little more harsh than he should’ve been. He was just rather stressed at the moment because Melanie’s life was on the line. And if he was going to save her and Amy, he needed peace and quiet so he could think.

“Ok, let him think”, River said to Amy.

The Doctor stood up “What happened? They stared at the Angel. They both looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long…”

“Sir! Angel incoming!” Marco shouted as an Angel appeared behind a tree.

“And here!” Phillip called spotting another one.

“Keep visual contact! Do not let it move!” Octavian ordered. The Doctor paced up and down, slapping the sides of his head trying to get his mind to figure it all out.

“Come on, come on, wakey, wakey! Amy and Elle watched an Angel climb out of the screen. They stared at the Angel and… and… “

“The image of an Angel is an Angel”, Amy finished quietly.

“A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer” the Doctor knelt down by Amy and looked at River as he spoke “We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in their minds” he clapped a hand over his mouth at the revelation. River stared at him with wide eyes.

“Three” Amy said and Melanie let out another whimper making Doctor look over at her, face full of worry. “Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it…I'm going to die!” Amy said extremely afraid. She never thought this would be how it ends for her. She thought she was going to be traveling with the Doctor for many years to come.

“Please just shut up”, the Doctor said standing up “I'm thinking. Now, counting. What's that about?” he took the radio out of his pocket “Bob, why are they making Amy count?” he asked.

“To make her afraid, sir”, Angel Bob replied.

“Ok, but why? What for?” the Doctor asked.

“For fun, sir”, Angel Bob answered. The Doctor’s grip tightened on the radio.

“And Elle?” he asked bracing himself for whatever answer the Angel had to give.

“She was supposed to be counting too but we weren’t able to make her so…” Angel Bob trailed off and Melanie screamed. The Doctor growled in anger and threw the radio away. He was going to make them pay! Somehow he was going to make all the Weeping Angels pay for hurting _his_ Bonded.

“Doctor, what's happening to us?” Amy asked “Explain!”

“Inside your head, in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you and Elle off”, the Doctor explained.

“Then what we do?” Amy asked.

“If it was a real screen, what would we do? We'd pull the plug. We'd kill the power. But we can't just knock them out, the Angel would just take over”, the Doctor said.

“Then what? Quickly!” River urged.

“We've got to shut down the vision centres of their brains. We've got to pull the plug. Starve the Angel”, the Doctor continued.

“Doctor, she's got seconds”, River said looking at Amy’s med scanner.

“Same with Elle”, Orion added glancing at the brunette’s med scanner.

“How would you starve your lungs?” the Doctor asked

“I'd stop breathing”, River replied.

“Both of you close your eyes”, the Doctor instructed. Melanie did it straight away but her med scanner was still in the red.

“There’s no change!” Orion said.

“That’s because Elle receives pain whenever Amy counts down. Amy you need to close your eyes”, the Doctor urged.

“No, No, I don't want to”, Amy said shaking her head.

“Good, because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you” the Doctor told her “It's afraid. Do it. Close your eyes”. Amy hesitated for a moment before she closed her eyes. Immediately both the med scanners went from red to green.

“She's normalising”, River said relieved.

“As is Elle”, Orion added looking just as relieved.

“Sir?” Phillip called “Two more incoming”.

“Three more over here”, Pedro said.

River and Orion put away the scanners that had been strapped to Melanie’s and Amy’s arms. The Doctor helped Melanie into a sitting position, giving her a gentle hug, thankful that they’d managed to halt the Angel, at least for the moment.

“They’re still pretty weak. Too dangerous to move them”, River said helping Amy sit up.

“So, can we open our eyes now?” Amy asked.

“Amy, Elle listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of…paused it”, the Doctor explained “The countdown has been used up. You cannot open your eyes”.

“Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on”, Octavian told him.

“We're too exposed everywhere”, the Doctor corrected “Amy and Elle can't move. And anyway, that's not the plan”.

“There's a plan?” River asked.

“I don't know yet. I haven't finished talking”, the Doctor said and stood up but not before he gave Melanie’s hands a reassuring squeeze “Right! Father, you and your Clerics, you're going to stay here, look after them. Orion I want you to stay behind too” the ginger haired man nodded “If anything happens to Amy, I'll hold every single one of you personally responsible”, the Doctor said “and if anything happens to my Elle… the Angels will be the least of your worries compared to me” the clerics actually looked rather scared by the threat in his voice. He then added and a slightly lighter tone “River, you and me, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is… he licked his finger and held it up “A quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're going to stabilise the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Amy and Elle”.

“How?” Orion asked.

“I'll do a thing”, the Doctor replied. Despite the pain she was still feeling, Melanie managed to crack a small smile at his answer.

“What thing?” River asked.

“I don't know. It's a thing in progress”, the Doctor shrugged.

“Thing in progress”, Melanie muttered rather amused.

“Respect the thing. Moving out!”

“Doctor, I'm coming with you”, Octavian said “My Clerics'll look after Miss Pond and Miss Hannigan. These are my best men. They'd lay down their lives in their protection”.

“I don't need you”, the Doctor said slightly on the rude side.

“I don't care. Where Doctor Song goes, I go”, Octavian said firmly.

The Doctor looked between River and Octavian “What? You two engaged or something?” he asked.

“Yes, in a manner of speaking”, Octavian replied “Marco, you're in charge till I get back”.

“Sir!” Marco nodded as Octavian headed off with River.

The Doctor turned his attention back to Amy and Melanie. He went over to his Bonded first, knelt down in front of her and took her hand “I'll be back for you soon as I can”, he promised.

Melanie nodded “ok”, she said having complete faith that he would keep him promise. He squeezed her hands before he let go to cup her face and dropping a kiss on top of her head. The Doctor moved over to Amy and made the same promise.

“You always say that”, Amy said.

“I always come back”, the Doctor countered standing up “Good luck, everyone. Behave. Do NOT let that either of them open their eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. River, going to need your computer!” and with that he left.

Orion squeezed Melanie’s shoulder alerting her to the fact he was still there “I’m just going to check the area nearby. I’ll be back in a minute”, he said. The man left and not a minute after he’d gone, the Doctor appeared.

He walked over to Amy and took her hands “Amy, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important”, he said.

“But you don't always tell me the truth”, Amy pointed out.

“If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me”, the Doctor countered.

“Doctor, the crack in my wall. How can it be here?” Amy asked.

“I don't know yet, but I'm working it out”, the Doctor replied “Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?”

“What did you tell me?” Amy asked.

The Doctor rested his forehead against hers “no, no…that's not the point. You have to remember”, he said before he kissed her on the head.

“Remember what?” Amy asked but she didn’t get an answer as the Doctor had moved onto Melanie. The brunette jumped when he took her hand.

“Elle there is something really important I need to tell you” the Doctor said “You need to remember this” he leant forward and spoke quietly into her ear. Once he was done, the Doctor moved back and kissed her cheek. He got up and walked away leaving a slightly confused Melanie. She wasn’t sure what to make of this important thing the Doctor had to tell her. All she could do is remember it just like the Doctor wanted her too.

As soon as the Doctor had left, Orion came back. “I can’t see any Angels behind us”, he reported.

“Doesn’t mean they’re not there”, Melanie pointed out.

“True. Very true”, Orion agreed.

\---------------------------

Amy fiddled with her hands as she sat there on the mossy tree stump, eyes closed. She could hear Melanie humming a tune quietly to herself. “So, what's happening? Anything happening out there?” Amy asked.

“The Angels are still grouping”, Marco reported. Orion frowned noticing an Angel reach into a tree and pulls at the wires causing the lights to flicker.

“Oh that’s not good”, he muttered.

“What’s not good?” Melanie asked having heard him.

“An Angel is ripping out the wires from a Treeborg”, Orion replied.

“Not just one Treeborg is being ripped apart”, Philip called spotting a couple more Angels doing the same thing to the trees near him.

“The same thing is happening over here”, Pedro reported.

“What is it? What's happening?” Amy asked “Tell me. Elle and I can't see”.

“It's the trees. ma'am. The trees are going out”, Marco said with a serious tone in his voice. Orion gently moved Melanie next to Amy so that it was easier to keep an eye on the both. He also instructed them to hold hands. He stood protectively by the pair, his eyes scanning the trees around them, noting the Angels that he could spot.

Taking advantage of the very brief moments that the clearing was in darkness, the Angels to advance on the group. “Angels advancing, sir”, Philip said.

“Over here again”, Pedro called.

“Weapons primed”, Marco ordered “Combat distance five feet” he and the other clerics readied their weapons “Wait for it!”

“What’s happening?” Melanie asked as Amy’s hand tightened around hers.

“Keep your position”, Marco continued “and you two keep your eyes shut!”

 _Nah I thought I’d open my eyes and let the Angel take over_ Melanie thought sarcastically.

Suddenly a bright light floods through the forest. Orion and the other clerics glance over at it, squinting slightly. “The ship's not on fire is it?” Marco asked.

Pedro shook his head “It can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it”, he replied. Orion frowned at the light, he couldn’t be sure but it almost looked like the crack they saw on the ship. Pedro looked away and was surprised to see that the Angels had gone. “Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?”

Orion and the clerics looked around and saw he was right. “This side's clear too, sir”, Philip reported.

“The Angels have gone?” Amy asked.

“There's still movement out there, but away from us now. It's like they're running”, Marco said glancing at a device in his hand.

“Running from what?” Melanie asked.

“The light. They’re running from the light”, Orion replied.

“I’m not surprised. It’s making me feel weird, sick”, Marco remarked. He turned to Crispin and Phillip. “I need you two to get a closer look at that”, he ordered.

“I would strongly advise against that”, Orion said warningly. But the clerics took no notice of his warning and disappeared into the trees, heading towards the light.

“Orion can you describe it?” Melanie asked wanting to get a better understanding of what had gotten their attention.

“It’s hard to tell but it almost looks like that w shaped crack we saw on the Byzantium”, Orion replied squinting at the light. If Amy’s eyes had been open, they would have widened at that. If the crack Orion and the other clerics were seeing at that moment was the same shape as the one on the Byzantium…

“It’s following me”, she breathed gripping Melanie’s hand even tighter “How can it be following me?”

“Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?” Pedro asked.

“Go for it”, Marco replied “Don't get too close”, he warned.

“Hold on, what about the other two?” Orion asked “shouldn’t you wait for them to come back?”

“What other two?” Marco asked confused.

“The ones you sent before”, Orion replied.

“I didn't send anyone before”, Marco said.

“You did, I heard you. Crispin and Phillip”, Amy spoke up.

Marco frowned “Crispin and who?”

 _How could he not remember sending those two clerics?_ Orion thought just as confused as the cleric was. _What’s going on?_

Melanie frowned this time “those are the names of the clerics you sent to investigate the light”, she said.

“There never was a Crispin or a Phillip on this mission”, Marco insisted.

“No, I heard you”, Amy argued.

“Me too”, Melanie added.

“And I saw you send them off”, Orion put in “Before you sent Pedro, you sent Crispin and Phillip, and now you can't even remember them”. Marco’s lack of memory towards two clerics that had been with them from the beginning of the mission was giving him a very bad feeling. 

“Pedro?” Marco asked.

“Yeah, before you sent Pedro”, Amy reminded him.

“Who's Pedro?”

Now Melanie knew there was something very, very wrong. _She_ remembered the clerics. _Amy_ remembered the clerics. _Orion_ even remembered the clerics. So why didn’t Marco? What is going on?

“Something's happening. Pedro was here a second ago and now you can't even remember him”, Amy said also realising that something was terribly wrong.

“There never was a Pedro”, Marco said “There's only ever been the four of us here”.

Orion shook his head “No, there were seven of us. Why can't you remember?” he asked getting really concerned for this man’s apparent amnesia when it came to the others.

Marco didn’t appear to be too bothered by it. “Listen. I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is”, he said “Don't worry, I won't get too close”.

“No you can’t!” Amy exclaimed.

“She’s right, you mustn’t”, Orion agreed.

“You’ve got a radio, right?” Marco asked him.

“Yes I do but-“

“Good. I'll stay in touch the whole time”, Marco assured him.

“You won't, because if you go back there what happened to the others will happen to you”, Orion countered.

“There weren't any others”, Marco said.

“There won't be any YOU if you go back there”, Orion argued.

“Two minutes, I promise”, Marco continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Please, just listen to me!” Orion called as the man started to walk away. Marco just ignored him. _Why on earth didn’t he listen to me? Do I have a face that no one listens to?_

The ginger haired man pulled out a radio from his coat pocket and brought it to his mouth “Marco? Are you there?” he asked.

“I'm here. I'm fine. Quite close to it now”, Marco replied.

“Then come back. Come back right now”, Orion demanded.

“It's weird looking at it. It feels really….” Marco broke off and Orion frowned at the static he heard on the other end.

“Really what?” Orion asked.

Nothing.

“Hello Marco? Are you there?” Orion asked.

Still nothing.

Then the Doctor’s voice came over the radio “Orion is that you?” he asked.

“Yeah it’s me Doctor”, Orion replied.

“Where are you? Are the Clerics with you?” the Doctor questioned.

“We’re still in the clearing”, Orion replied “and the Clerics have gone. There was a light and they walked into it. Doctor, they didn't even remember each other”.

“No, they wouldn't”, the Doctor said.

“What is that light?” Orion heard River ask.

“Time running out”, the Doctor replied.

“What should I do Doctor?” Orion asked prepared to do whatever he told him to do.

“Bring yourself, Elle and Amy to the Primary Flight Deck, the other end of the forest”, the Doctor instructed “I’ll sonic the communicator so when it sounds like my screwdriver, it means you’re going the right way. But you, Amy and Elle have to start moving now. There's Time Energy spilling out of that crack, and you have to stay ahead of it”.

“Primary Flight Deck. Stay ahead of the Time Energy”, Orion repeated “gotcha”.

“Please get Elle here safely”, the Doctor added, his voice with a pleasing note in it.

“I will Doctor”, Orion promised. He secured the radio to his jacket and turned to Amy and Melanie. “Right, we’ve got to get to the Primary Flight Deck”, he said helping them both to their feet “I need you both to hold hands and don’t let go”, he instructed “Elle I’m going to take you other hand”.

“You’re not going to let go are you?” Melanie asked.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Just hold onto each other and don’t open your eyes”, Orion said. He took Melanie’s other hand and started to walk. Even with the ginger leading them, both Melanie and Amy still stumbled along as they walked through the forest. Orion gripped Melanie’s hand tighter as he noticed that they were surrounded by Angels. He knew they were more interested in getting away, rather than the three of them. At the moment at least. “Elle keep hold of Amy’s hand”, he instructed as he squeezed between two Angels.

Carefully he manoeuvred his way through the Angels, Melanie clinging onto his hand and Amy clutching hers tightly. Suddenly, the brunette let out a yelp as she tripped over a partially buried root pulling down both Orion and Amy. The ginger haired man quickly got them both back on their feet but it was too late. The Angels had taken notice of them.

“Doctor we’re in a bit a trouble”, Orion reported looking from Angel to Angel trying to stop their advance but he was only one person. He couldn’t look at them all at the same time. “We could do with some help, right now”. Orion pulled the girls closer to him as the Angels closed in, arms stretched towards them.

There is a bright flash of light and the trio vanished.

~Primary Flight Deck~

Almost immediately the Doctor pulled Melanie away from Orion and gave her a tight hug. “I’m so sorry Elle. I shouldn’t have left you there”, he said apologetically feeling his hearts calm down now that she was in his arms.

“It’s not your fault”, Melanie said. She didn’t blame him at all. How was he to know that a crack was going to open up in the forest? And that when the clerics went to investigate, they would never come back? They were all together now and that’s what mattered.

“See? Told you I could get it working”, River spoke up. The Doctor looked over to see the curly haired woman smiling at him with her arm around Amy.

“River Song, I could bloody kiss you!” the Doctor cheered.

River made a face “think you should just stick to kissing your Bonded”, she said pointedly looking at Melanie whom he was still holding.

“Good point”, the Doctor agreed dropping a kiss on top of Melanie’s head. An alarm suddenly blares throughout the room.

“What's that?” Orion asked.

“The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means…the shield's going to release!” the Doctor exclaimed. He passed Melanie off to Orion as the bulk head rose up to reveal a line of Weeping Angels. One of which had a radio.

The Doctor stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the Angel with the radio “Angel Bob, I presume”, he said. Here was the Angel that had caused Melanie all that pain. His hearts had started to race at that thought.

“The Time Field is coming”, Angel Bob said “It will destroy our reality”.

“Yeah, and look at you all, running away” the Doctor said glaring at Angel Bob “What can I do for you?” 

“There is a rupture in time”, Angel Bob replied “The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved”.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why should I?” the Doctor asked “You caused my Bonded a lot of pain”, he added angrily.

With those words, Amy’s heart sank. She’d really hoped that she was the Doctor’s Bonded. But the Angel’s only made her see things…forced her to count down. Melanie was the one who had to endure increasing amounts of pain in her head. Her friend Melanie Hannigan was the Doctor’s Bonded.

“Your friends will also be saved. Your Bonded as well”, Angel Bob pointed out.

“Well…there is that”, the Doctor agreed.

“I've travelled in time”, River spoke up “I'm a complicated space time event too. Throw me in”. That made Orion throw her a look which she ignored.

The Doctor glanced at her “Oh, be serious! Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you, and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip”, he said.

“Doctor, I can't let you do this”, River said. She knew what pain that would cause Melanie if he was to throw himself into the crack.

“No, seriously, get a grip”, the Doctor repeated trying to convey what he wanted her to do. Orion understood what he was trying to say.

“You're not going to die here!” River exclaimed.

“Oh River, get a grip”, Orion said harshly. River looked sharply at him and then it hit her.

“Oh, you genius”, she breathed. River moved Amy over to a panel and put her hands on a bar. “Hold on tight and don’t let go for anything”, she said firmly. Orion said a similar thing the Melanie as he put her hands on a bar.

“Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now”, Angel Bob said.

“Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship. Every last bit of it”, the Doctor explained “And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels….” Orion grabbed a bar as did River. “Night, night”, the Doctor said causally turning to grip a bar himself as the gravity started to fail.

The moment it completely failed, the deck turns to its side. Everyone held on for dear life as the Angels are sucked into the crack. There is a burst of light and the crack closes.

~Beach~

Amy and Melanie sat side by side on the beach, both wrapped in a blanket. “Ah… bruised everywhere”, the ginger groaned.

“Me too”, Melanie agreed.

“Same”, the Doctor put in.

“Well you didn’t have to climb out with your eyes shut. Amy and I did”, Melanie countered.

“You didn’t have to Elle. Neither of you had to, I kept saying. The Angels all fell into the Time Field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now”, the Doctor said.

“Then why do we remember it at all? Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other”, Amy said.

“You're both time travellers now. It changes the way you see the universe, forever”, the Doctor explained with a smile “Good, isn't it?” he asked.

“And the crack, is that gone too?” Amy asked carefully.

“Yeah, for now”, the Doctor answered “But the explosion that caused it is still happening...somewhere out there, somewhere in time”. He looked out at the Ocean before walking over to River and Orion.

“You, me, handcuffs. Must it always end this way?” River asked teasingly holding up her encased wrists.

“What now?” the Doctor asked.

“The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see”, River said.

“I recon you will this time River”, Orion assured her.

“Octavian said you killed a man”, the Doctor said.

“Yes, I did”, River confirmed.

“A good man”

“A _very_ good man”, River corrected “The best man I've ever known”.

“Who?” the Doctor asked.

“It's a long story Doctor”, River replied “It can't be told, it has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one. You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens”.

“The Pandorica”, the Doctor laughed “That's a fairy tale”.

River smirked “Doctor, aren't we all? I'll see you there”, she said.

“I look forward to it”, the Doctor said.

“I remember it well”, River said as Amy and Melanie approached them, still wrapped in their blankets. Both girls said their farewells to River and Orion.

“See you, Amy. Elle”, River said. Then her handcuffs start beeping “Oh! I think that's my ride”.

“Can I trust you River Song?” the Doctor asked quickly. 

“If you like, but where's the fun in that?” River laughed and is teleported away in a swirl of sand.

“Orion I meant to ask you earlier about your glasses. Why were you wearing them?” the Doctor asked. Melanie and Amy looked at the Doctor thinking it was a strange thing to ask.

Orion took them out of his pocket “oh, these old things? I get them from my Dad, he said they would really suit my current face”, he explained and gave the Doctor a wink. The watch on his wrist beeped “that’s my ride. See ya Amy, Elle”, he said and then was teleported away in a swirl of sand.

“That was a strange thing to ask him about”, Melanie remarked. She frowned at the slightly shocked look on his face “Doctor? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong”, he replied.

“Then why do you look shocked?” Melanie asked.

“Didn’t realise I was. Got nothing to be shocked about”, the Doctor answered “now, come on. Back to the TARDIS”. Without waiting for a reply he walked off. Amy and Melanie exchanged looks, shrugged and followed after him.

As the Doctor walked over to the TARDIS, a smile grew on his face.

~TARDIS~

“I want to go home”, Amy declared the moment the trio had entered the TARDIS.

“Okay”, the Doctor said. He was disappointed but understood. She had nearly died after all. He didn’t blame her for wanting to go home.

“No, not like that”, Amy said quickly “I just, I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running too”.

~Amy's bedroom~

As soon as the TARDIS appeared in Amy’s room, Melanie quickly left mumbling something about wanting to freshen up. While she was gone, Amy showed the Doctor her wedding dress.

“Blimey”, the Doctor commented looking at it.

“I know. This is the same night we left, yeah?” Amy asked.

“We've been gone five minutes”, the Doctor replied.

Amy sat down on her bed, reached over to the bedside table and picked up a ring box. She opened it and showed it to the Doctor. “I'm getting married in the morning”

“Why did you leave it here?” the Doctor asked.

“Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?”

“Yeah”, the Doctor said.

“Hmm. You really are an alien, aren't you?” Amy remarked.

“Who's the lucky fellow?” the Doctor asked.

“You met him, Rory Williams”, Amy replied.

“Oh! Nurse Boy”, the Doctor nodded.

“So…do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?” Amy asked.

The Doctor frowned “Why would you need comforting?”

“I nearly died today Doctor. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life”, Amy said “and as much as I’d like you to comfort me, your Bonded needs you a lot more”.

“You know?” the Doctor asked.

Amy nodded “I do. Go Doctor, be there for her”, she said. The Doctor gave Amy a smile before he got up from the bed and left the room.

\-------------------------

Melanie was startled when her bedroom door suddenly opened and the Doctor entered. “Doctor!” she exclaimed quickly turning around cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the fact that he’d seen her with her shirt off. She had been getting changed at the time but still! “Would it kill you to knock?” she asked reaching back and grabbing the green shirt she’d been about to put on. “Honestly what were you thinking just walking in like that?” Melanie asked hastily doing up the buttons. She frowned when she didn’t get a response.

“Doctor?” she asked

Silence.

Confused as to why he wasn’t saying a word, not even an apology, Melanie turned around. The Doctor was standing there but he didn’t look embarrassed that he’d just walked in on her changing. No, he looked almost…angry. “Doctor? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You tell me”, the Doctor replied trying to remain calm. He didn’t want to scare her with his anger, especially when wasn’t meant for her. Not directly at least.

“I don’t understand”, Melanie said genuinely, confused.

“Those… scars”, the Doctor gritted out. He’d seen a few crisscrossing her front and even more on her back. He knew that her uncle had hurt her which had made him extremely angry to the point that he wanted to kill the man…now he was downright murderous! He didn’t want to kill the monster, he wanted to tear him apart!!

“Oh…that”, Melanie said quietly, her confusion gone. She didn’t even think about the ones normally hidden by clothes. Of course he would’ve seen them. The Doctor watched as she slowly sat down on the bed, his anger fading at the look on her face, the pain in her eyes.

He sat down next to her. “What happened?” he asked softly.

“Remember what I told you about my uncle?” Melanie questioned and the Doctor nodded “that’s what he did to me. It’s my constant reminder of how broken I am”.

“You’re not broken”, the Time Lord said gently as tears rolled down her face.

“Then you must be blind cos I am broken”, Melanie sobbed “broken, pathetic and weak”.

“That’s not what I see”, the Doctor said, wiping away her tears with his thumb “I see someone beautiful and kind. Your scars do not show that you’re broken, they show that you’re a survivor” he touched her face lovingly before he softly kissed her.


	6. Vampires of Venice

As the pair kissed, a pleasant warmth flooded through their bodies. The pair had to break away when air was becoming a little bit of an issue for Melanie. The Doctor rested his forehead against Melanie’s closing his eyes savouring the moment, committing it to memory. This first kiss with his Bonded was amazing! The Doctor hoped all his kisses with her will be like that.

“That was amazing”, Melanie murmured earning a grin from the Doctor.

“Really?” he asked.

“Really”, Melanie confirmed with a smile. The Doctor cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers again. When he pulled away, he noticed the clock on the nightstand. 11:53 25/6/10.

“You know, after what you’ve been through, you deserve a nice trip somewhere”, the Doctor said standing up, holding his hands out to her. Melanie took them and he tugged her to her feet. 

“Where?” she asked as the Doctor ushered her out of her room.

“How about somewhere romantic?” the Time Lord suggested.

“You mean like a date or something?” Melanie questioned.

“If you like”, the Doctor replied.

“Everything ok?” Amy asked as they entered her room.

“Yep”, the Doctor answered popping the p “we’re gonna head off now”.

“Where?” Amy asked.

“Somewhere romantic”, Melanie replied.

“So what am I supposed to do while you two are off on a date?” Amy queried. She was glad that the Doctor wanted to do something nice for Melanie but it meant that she’d be stuck in the TARDIS throughout the duration.

“You’ll be joining us. You and nurse boy”, the Doctor said cheerfully unlocking the TARDIS.

“So…it’s a double date?” Amy asked a bit confused.

“Yes, it is”, the Doctor answered opening the door to the blue box and ushering them both in. He glanced at the clock on Amy’s nightstand.

12:00 26/6/10

The Doctor’s mind immediately flashed back to the Byzantium and the moment he discovered the origin of the cracks in time. 

_“…and for those of us who can’t read the base code of the universe?” River asked._

_“Amy and Elle’s time”, the Doctor replied._

He didn’t like the fact that he had to keep this revelation from Amy…from his Bonded. But he had to because he needed to figure out why the cracks happened in the first place. Once he worked it out, then he’ll tell them.

~TARDIS~

Rory looked around the interior of the TARDIS is awe. Ever since Prisoner Zero he’d been reading up on the latest scientific theories. Though he did the research, it didn’t really compare to actually standing inside the TARDIS. Amy watched her fiancé take it all in with a smile on her face.

Beneath the console, the Doctor sat in a harness seat doing some welding. Melanie lay on the glass floor, head hanging over the side as she watched him work. “Oh! The life out there, it dazzles”, the Doctor said cheerfully “I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. Unless it’s your Bonded then nothing else is more important” he glanced up at Melanie and winked earning a smile from the brunette “I've seen it devour relationships and plans….” A small explosion went off where the Doctor was working causing all but the Time Lord to jump.

“You ok?” Melanie asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s meant to do that”, the Doctor assured her. Melanie raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him “Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart. I'm sending you somewhere, together”.

“He means a double date”, Amy elaborated at Rory’s confused look.

“Double date?” Rory asked. He looked at Melanie “you and the Doctor are together, Elle?”

“That’s what he meant by Bonded”, Melanie answered, pushing herself to her feet seeing that the Doctor had stood up and was making his way to the stairs.

“When did that happen?” he questioned.

“Quite recently”, Melanie answered as the Doctor joined them.

“It's a lot to take in, isn't it?” the Doctor remarked “Elle and I…the TARDIS” the Time Lord looked around the console room “tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain…”

“It's another dimension”, Rory stated.

“It's basically another dimen…” the Doctor began before he realised what Rory had just said “What?”

“After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes”, Rory explained.

The Doctor took a step towards him “I like the bit when someone says ‘it's bigger on the inside!’” he said disappointed “I always look forward to that”.

“Doctor…” Melanie spoke up “it’s bigger on the inside”. The Doctor turned around and smiled at his Bonded.

“Thanks Elle”, he said.

“So…this double date. You said it was going to be somewhere romantic, where exactly?” Amy asked.

The Doctor smiled again “you’ll see”, he replied before he went to the console and pulled a lever, sending the TARDIS flying through the vortex. 

\-----------------------

The TARDIS appeared in the middle of a busy marketplace, though no one seemed to notice. The door opened and the Doctor stepped out followed by Melanie, Amy and Rory.

“Venice!” the Doctor laughed, throwing his arms out “Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city”. Melanie, Amy and Rory look around in amazement. “Preposterous city! Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun”, the Doctor continued “It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the middle of the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding…constantly… just beautiful”, the Doctor wound an arm around Melanie’s waist, kissing her cheek “just like my Elle”. The brunette blushed at his compliment. “Ah, you got to love Venice”, the Doctor sighed “So many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova… Ooo, that reminds me” he checked his watch “1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for a hundred and forty five years”.

The Doctor was rather relieved about that fact. The last thing he wanted to do was to run into that womanizer, especially since Melanie was with him. He knew if Casanova met his Bonded… he would just try to flirt with her… and that was NOT happening. Melanie was _his_ and his alone. “Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken”, the Doctor informed Melanie, Amy and Rory.

“You owe Casanova a chicken?” Rory asked.

“Long story. We had a bet”, the Doctor said waving the question off “Now, we’ve got a double date to start” he took Melanie’s hand and started to walk through the marketplace. The group nearly reached the steps that lead to the rest of the city when an official dressed in black stepped out and stopped them.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection”, the official ordered.

The Doctor held up the psychic paper without hesitation “There you go, fella…” the official took it and looked closely at it “all to your satisfaction, I think you'll find”.

The official’s eyes widened as he looked around at the group before he bowed deeply to the Doctor “I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realise”, he said apologetically.

The Doctor took the physic paper back. “No worries. You were just doing your job”, he said. 

“Sorry, what exactly is your job?” Melanie asked.

“Oh, your highness…” the official bowed to Melanie who looked surprised “Checking for aliens. Visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them”.

“Oh, that's nice. See where you bring us?” Amy slapped the Doctor on the arm “the plague”.

“Don't worry, Viscountess”, the official assured Amy and bowed to the ginger “No, we're under quarantine here. No one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri”. The official points to the crest on the box he’s carrying.

“How interesting. I heard the plague died out years ago”, the Doctor remarked.

“Not out there”, the official replied grimly “No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said”.

“Did she now?” the Doctor remarked as the official walked off to question someone else.

“Doctor why did he call me ‘your highness’?” Melanie asked.

“Because of the title I chose for you when I showed him the physic paper”, the Doctor replied and showed it to her.

“The Queen of Belgium?” Melanie said reading the paper aloud.

The Doctor took the paper back from her “Well…I couldn’t exactly call you the Queen of my Hearts. Wouldn’t look right on paper”, he said.

Melanie laughed “queen of your hearts? That’s pretty corny Doctor”.

“Yeah it is”, the Doctor agreed. He placed a hand on her cheek “but it’s also true”, he added before he leant in and kissed her. Rory looked away while Amy watched with a small smile on her face.

The pair walked along holding hands, Amy and Rory behind them. “Doctor, what’s that?” Melanie asked spotting a procession of girls dressed in white across the water.

“I don’t know”, he replied “let’s get a closer look”. The four of them hurried over to the canal to watch along with the other citizens.

They all watch as an older black man, Guido, runs up to the procession. “What do you want?” an older woman demanded.

Guido ignored her ad started lifting the veils of the girls “Where's my Isabella?” he asked, almost desperately.

“What are you doing? Get away from there!” the older woman ordered.

Guido continued to ignore her, lifting up the veils until he found his daughter “Isabella!” he cried “it's me”, the man added as his daughter backed away from him. One of the other girls surged forwards, hissing at Guido, baring her pointed teeth.

“Girls, come along!” the woman ordered and the girls continued.

 _Looks like this double date is gonna have to be put on hold_ Melanie thought. The Doctor heard this thought very clearly, just like he did during their previous trip. Their mental bond was getting stronger with him being able to hear her thoughts as if she was talking out loud. And Melanie had been able to actively project to him. However, he had yet to do the same. Well… no time like the present.

 _Only until we figure out whats going on_ the Time Lord thought.

Melanie did a double take when she heard the Doctor’s voice in her head. It didn’t sound that clear though and she could only hear a few words clearly. But she had heard him nonetheless. She glanced at him and seeing he was looking at her waiting to see if she’d heard him, the brunette nodded. The Doctor grinned, pleased that it had worked. He took her hand and led her away. They had to get across the canal to talk to that man and find out what was going on.

\----------------------

The Doctor and Melanie ran, following Guido as he stormed off. The Time Lord leapt onto the bottom step of a stone staircase, pulling Melanie with him as the black man walked through the passage way. “Who are those girls?” he asked.

Guido stopped and turned to face the pair. “I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school”, he said.

“Our first day here”, the Doctor said stepping down with Melanie “Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools”, he remarked as they walked over to Guido “They move house, they change religion. So why are you trying to get her out?”

“Something happens in there”, Guido said quietly “Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognise me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face…like an animal”.

“You know, I think it’s time we met this Signora Calvierri”, Melanie said “what do you think Doctor?”

“Absolutely”, he agreed.

~House of Calvierri entrance~

“You have my daughter”, Guido stated as he walked up to one of the guards “Isabella!” he called out.

“No, you're not coming in, stop there!” one of the guards shouted as the Doctor and Melanie watched “We've told you…”

While the guard was distracted, the Doctor and Melanie take the opportunity to sneak along the side of the building. 

“You have my daughter. Isabella!” Guido continued as the pair reached a gate by the canal “I demand you let me see my daughter!”

The Doctor flashed his sonic on the gate, pushed it open and the two of them slipped inside. The pair quickly head down a stone staircase not wanting to linger too long in case the guards spotted them. At the bottom of the steps was a large chamber with an ornate mirror on one wall. On the opposite side was three doors.

The Doctor went over to the mirror “Hello, handsome”, he said straightening his bow tie. He looked at Melanie’s reflection as she was standing beside him “Hello beautiful”. The brunette blushed at his compliment.

Unbeknownst to either of them five very pale girls in white nightgowns had appeared behind them. "Who are you?" they asked unison causing the pair to turn around, startled.

The Doctor glanced at the mirror and then back at the girls. They had no reflection. "How are you doing that?" he asked "I...am...loving it".

"I'm not", Melanie mumbled eyeing the girls warily. She too had noticed that they had no reflection. Immediately her mind jumped to vampires.

The Doctor was going to say something when the girls spoke again. "I'll ask you again, signor, signora. Who are you?"

"Why don't you check this out?" the Doctor said pulling out a leather wallet with a flourish. The five girls just stare at it blankly. "Ah. Library card", the Doctor muttered when he looked at it. Of all the times to pull out the wrong thing. He stuffed it back into his pocket. _Ok, keep control of the situation_ the Time Lord thought as he could both see and slightly feel that Melanie was scared. He was gonna have to keep control of the situation the one way he knew how...rambling.

"Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight", he continued slowly shifting in front of Melanie "and can't be seen in..." the Doctor glanced at the mirror "Am I thinking what I think I'm thinking? But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless..."

"Leave now, signor, signora, we shall call for the Steward...if you are lucky", the girls threatened.

Melanie gasped and grabbed the back of the Doctor's jacket when the girls hissed, their teeth turning into fangs.

The Doctor backed away making sure that Melanie was still behind him as the five girls advanced, hissing at the pair. "Tell me the whole plan", the Doctor ordered but the girls just ignored him and kept walking forward. "Listen, I would love to stay here...", he continued "but this beautiful brunette here, isn't so keen...so...bye!" the Doctor spun around, grabbed Melanie's hand and they raced up the steps. 

When they were far enough away from the school, the pair stopped. The Doctor immediately hugged Melanie, feeling her shaking from their encounter with the vampires. “Vampires”, she breathed, trembling “those were vampires”.

“I know”, the Doctor softly rubbing her back. While he was obviously thrilled with this discovery his Bonded was not. “Do you want to go back to the TARDIS?” he asked. He wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to as meeting the vampires had clearly scared her. Besides the box was the safest place she could be and her safety was his top priority, always.

Melanie glanced up at him “but what about the vampires?” she asked “We’ve got to stop them”.

“ _I_ can stop the vampires”, the Doctor corrected “you don’t have to”.

“I have to come. Someone needs to watch your back”, Melanie said.

“Well…there’s Amy and Rory”, the Doctor reminded her.

“True, but you’re my _Bonded_ ”, Melanie pointed out “I should be helping you…vampires be damned”. The Doctor smiled and gave her a quick kiss before hugging her again. Melanie rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, listening to his hearts beating. The sound was soothing enabling her to calm down.

The Time Lord looked up when he heard a set of running footsteps and saw Amy hurrying towards them, an excited grin on her face. Though her expression turned to one of concern as she saw the Doctor hugging Melanie. It wasn’t one of love, it was of comfort. “Is she ok?” Amy asked worried for her friend.

“She’s just a bit shaken up”, the Doctor replied “We just encountered some vampires”.

“Five very creepy girls”, Melanie mumbled not moving her head from the Doctor’s chest.

“Yeah, we saw one too, a guy though”, Amy told them. Just then Rory ran up.

“We think we just saw a vampire”, Rory stated, panting a little from the run.

“Yeah, I know. Amy was just telling me”, the Doctor said dismissively.

Melanie glanced up at him “Rude”, she lightly scolded.

“I’m allowed to be. Not ginger”, the Doctor countered.

“I think you’d still be rude even if you _were_ ginger”, Melanie told him.

“Maybe…have to wait to find out”, the Doctor said.

“Hope it’s a long time”, Melanie said “I’m getting rather attached to this version. You, your floppy hair and bowtie” she reached up, tugging the item in question gently. The Doctor caught her hand as she moved it away from his bowtie and pressed a kiss to it.

“I hope so too”, he agreed with a smile. Amy watched this interaction with a smile of her own. Those two were so adorable! If she wasn’t aware that they had this connection, this bond between them, that interaction was a very clear sign that the Doctor and Melanie were supposed to be together.

The Doctor didn’t want to stop this little moment they were having but unfortunately they had vampires to stop. “Right. We need to figure out what those vampires are up to”, he stated “so we need to get back into that school somehow”.

“What?” Rory asked rather taken aback by that.

“How do we do that?” Amy asked.

“Come and meet our new friend”, the Doctor replied.

~Guido's home~

The Doctor, Melanie, Amy and Guido were gathered around a map of Venice that had been placed on the table. Rory, on the other hand is perched on a barrel. “As you saw, there's no clear way in”, Guido said “The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor”.

“You need someone on the inside”, Amy stated already formulating an idea.

“No”, the Doctor said firmly.

“You don't even know what I was going to say!” Amy exclaimed.

“We, that we pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside, and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in”, the Doctor deadpanned. There was no way he was letting Amy go into the school because if he did, Melanie would want to go too just so she could watch out for Amy. And he most certainly did _not_ want his Bonded going into a school full of vampires.

“Oh…” Amy said “So you do know what I was going to say”.

“Ames it’s too dangerous”, Melanie said giving her a look.

“We don't have another option. _You_ had gotten shaken up over your little encounter” Melanie looked away and the Doctor touched the small of her back, a silent gesture of comfort “and we don’t have any other female candidates so that just leaves me”, Amy said.

“He said no, Amy”, Rory spoke up “Listen to him”.

“There _is_ another option”, Guido pointed towards Rory “I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy”.

The Doctor walked over to the barrels and sniffed one “Gunpowder”, he stated “most people just nick stationery from where they work” Rory slowly slid off the barrel and backs away…into the dead rabbit hanging by the fireplace. The Doctor turned to Guido “Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive”, he said.

“What do you suggest, then?” Guido asked “We wait until they turn her into an animal?” he turned away and poked the fire angrily.

“He’s not saying that Guido”, Melanie said. She glanced at the Doctor “there must be something we _can_ do”.

“Yeah there is. I go”, Amy piped up “I’ll be there three, four hours, tops”.

“No. No, no, no, no”, the Doctor shook his head “It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go” he went over to the small bed, putting his head in his hands. Melanie walked over and sat next to him as he lowered his hands. The brunette woman took his hand, intertwining their fingers. “But I have to know”, the Doctor sighed.

“Then Amy and I will go together”, Melanie said. She didn’t want to go back, she really didn’t but Amy was right about one thing they needed a man…or in this case…a woman on the inside. And the two of them going was better than Amy going by herself.

The Doctor looked sharply at her “no!” he said.

“Look, it’s too dangerous…” Melanie began.

“Exactly! It’s way too dangerous!” the Doctor cut in, tightening his grip on her hand “I’m not having you go put yourself in danger like that”.

Melanie tugged her hand out of his and scooted away from him “If you’ll let me finish”, she said sternly “I was going to say…it’s too dangerous for Amy to go _alone._ But if we went together, we can watch each other’s backs. Plus, it’ll give us an opportunity to work on the mental bond…unless you want to wait until we’re forcibly separated?”

The Doctor knew she had a point. Having them _both_ go is better than Amy going on her own. He’d even have to agree about the mental bond. Theirs wasn’t that strong. This separation would give them an opportunity to work on it. Though it didn’t mean he had to like the fact that his Bonded was going to _willing_ walk into a school full of vampires. The Time Lord sighed again, running a hand through his hair “Alright, you two can go. And I’ll come too”, he said.

“What?” Rory asked staring at the Doctor incredulously.

“But didn’t the vampires see you Elle?” Amy asked.

“I don’t think they got a good look at me”, Melanie replied “as there wasn’t much light…and the Doctor stood in front of me as well”.

Amy nodded “Who are we going as then?” she asked the Doctor.

“A brother with two sisters”, the Doctor replied.

Melanie made a face “No, I don’t think so”, she said.

“Yeah, it’s bit too weird”, Amy agreed “besides they’ve already seen you Doctor”. The ginger looked at Rory “you should do it”.

“Me?” Rory gaped.

“Yeah. You can be Elle’s brother and my cousin!” Amy said cheerfully going over to him, rubbing the top of his head playfully.

“Why is him being the brother weird, but with me, it's okay?” Rory asked. 

“He’s Elle’s Bonded”, Amy stated “and I’m _Scottish_ ”.

The Doctor slid over to Melanie taking her hand again. This time she didn’t pull away. “You stay in contact as much as you can, ok?” he said touching her temple “I’ll do the same”.

Melanie nodded “ok”, she agreed.

“If you get into trouble, just shout”, the Doctor continued “and I’ll be there as quick as possible”.

“I will”, Melanie promised and the Doctor kissed her temple.

Rory shook his head “This whole thing is mental!” he cried “They're VAMPIRES, for God's sake!

“We hope”, the Doctor said.

“So if they're not vampires?” Amy asked.

“Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire”, the Doctor said seriously.

~Throne room~

Melanie and Amy stood either side of Rory, all three of them now dressed in appropriate clothing. “So, basically, both of our parents are dead from getting the plague”, Rory explained “I'm a gondola…driver…so…money's a bit tight…so having my sister and cousin go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers”.

The well-dressed man who’d put his foot on Guido, Francesco, walked forward, his eyes fixed on Amy, clearly interested. “Have we met?” he asked her.

“I've just got one of those faces…” Rory said, answering for her.

“I wasn't talking to you”, Francesco snapped at Rory.

“Well… _she_ doesn’t have the same face as she’s my cousin…but Elle does as she’s my sister…”

“Carlo, explain yourself. Why have you brought me this imbecile?” Signora Rosanna Calvierri demanded giving her steward a displeased look.

“Signora, they have references from His Majesty the King of Sweden”, Carlo replied.

“What?” Rosanna’s eyes widened “Let me see” she held out her hand and Rory walked towards the throne, handing the psychic paper over. Francesco circled Amy once more moving to the same to Melanie. The brunette stiffened when the man touched her hair, leaning over and sniffed her locks.

“Well I see what got my Steward so excited”, Rosanna remarked giving the psychic paper back to Rory “What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?”

Francesco ran his fingers through Melanie’s hair, the brunette fisting her skirt trying to stay calm…trying not to let any stray thoughts get to the Doctor. Yes, he said to stay in contact but she didn’t want him rushing head first into danger because he’d heard her panicked thoughts.

“Oh, I do, Mother. I do…this one is especially”, Francesco replied.

Rosanna smiled “Then we would be delighted to accept her. Say goodbye to your sister and cousin”.

Rory gave both girl’s hands a gentle squeeze before he was ushered to the door by Carlo. “Tell Uncle…Doctor…I'll see you both really soon, okay?” Amy called after him “we'll be fine”.

Behind the women, Francesco approached Melanie, teeth bared. “Amy! Elle!” Rory shouted seeing this as the door slammed shut.

\-------------

Melanie noted the number of girls who were watching her and Amy as Carlo led them up the stairs. There was quite a few. The Steward took them into a large ornate room with beds set around in a circle. “There are clothes on the bed”, Carlo said “Get changed and wait here”.

“Blimey”, Amy muttered, looking around the room “This is private education, then?”

“Seems like it”, Melanie agreed “hey loo”, she said nodding to the only girl left in the room with them. The others had followed after Carlo as he left the room.

The pair walk over to her “Hello”, Amy said gently “I'm Amy and this is Elle. What's your name?”

“Isabella”, the girl replied. _This must be Guido’s daughter_ Melanie thought. Now was a good time as any to try and contact the Doctor.

 _‘Doctor we’ve found Guido’s daughter’_ the brunette thought as hard as she could to the Time Lord.

“Listen, we're going to get you out of here, but I need you to tell me what's going on”, Amy said “What is this place? What are they doing?”

“They um….they come at night. They gather around my bed, and they take me to a room…with this green light and a chair with straps, as if for a surgeon”, Isabella explained, though with some difficulty.

“What happens in there?” Melanie asked.

“I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax”, Isabella replied. Amy and Melanie exchanged wary glances at that. Then the Doctor’s voice chimed in her head though it sounded rather static-y, kinda like a radio getting weak signal.

_‘Good work Elle. How is she?’_

Melanie closed her eyes and concentrated. _’She doesn’t look well. We need to get her out of here’_

A few minutes later, she got a response. _‘We’ll get all of you out’_ the Doctor promised _‘just be careful’_

 _‘I will’_ Melanie promised him.

Later…

Amy and Melanie, now dressed in a white gown and carrying a lamp each, they headed downstairs to search for the room Isabella mentioned. The brunette had been giving the Doctor little updates throughout the day as best as she could. All the responses sounded the same, static-y. She’d let him know that she and Amy were looking for the room Isabella had told them about…and he told her to be careful.

The pair heard a moan and a cry of pain and rushed off to find the source. Amy and Melanie crossed a chamber, passing by a wooden chest. Though neither of them noticed a skeletal hand sticking out from it.

~Courtyard~

The friends make their way to the well in the centre of the courtyard, the exact well the Guido had told them was the school entrance that led to the underground passage. Amy set down her lamp and tried to unbolt the grate but it was stuck. “Give me a hand Elle”, she said. Melanie nodded, setting down her own lamp. She too grabbed hold of the bolt and between the two of them, they managed to shift it. Melanie and Amy pick up their lamps and headed back into the school when Carlo appeared. The pair shriek, dropping their lamps which smash on the floor.

~underground chamber~

Melanie struggled in Francesco’s grip as he forced her down a set of stairs. Amy was doing the same in Carlo’s grasp. “Get your hands off us!” she cried. Melanie didn’t say anything verbally but mentally she was screaming for the Doctor, sincerely hoping that he could hear her cries and come running just like he promised.

“Control yourself child!” Carlo snapped at Amy. The two men stepped into a chamber bathed in green light with their captives. Rosanna and a few of the girls were waiting for them.

“Psychic paper”, Rosanna sneered “Did you really think that would work on me?”

~Courtyard~

The Doctor pushed the grate open and clambered out. He then reached down to pull Rory up and out of the well. “I can’t see a thing”, the Doctor grumbled.

“Just as well I brought this, then”, Rory said producing a small pencil torch from his pocket. His eyebrows raised when the Doctor pulled out a long torch from within his jacket.

“Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight”, the Doctor explained.

“Yours is bigger than mine”, Rory stated.

The Doctor gave him a look “Let's not go there”, he said. Suddenly he stiffened feeling an overwhelming sense of fear.

 _‘DOCTOR!’_ Melanie’s voice screamed in his head. Terror gripped his hearts at how scared she sounded.

“Elle’s in trouble!” the Doctor shouted he dashed across the courtyard only to be stopped by a group of girls stepping out from different archways. The Doctor held up the ultraviolet light as they grew closer, the portable bar of sun light stopping their advances. “Run!” he yelled at Rory. The man turned and ran the other way. The Time Lord stayed put for a fraction longer before chasing after Rory. The girls quickly followed the males.

~underground chamber~

“Where are you from? Did you fall through the Chasm?” Rosanna demanded circling Amy and Melanie.

“Mother this is pointless. Let's just start the process and…” Francesco began when his mother abruptly cut him off with

“Hold your tongue, Francesco! I need to know what these girls is doing in a world of savages with psychic paper” two of the girls bring forward with a wooden chair that had two thick wrist straps “Who are you with? You see, I scarcely believe that idiot human sent you” Francesco sets a hook into an eye socket above the chair “What are you doing in MY school?” Rosanna demanded as a girl brought in an IV bag, placing on the hook.

“Okay, I'll tell you. We’re from Ofsted”, Amy sassily replied.

Rosanna laughed “Put her in the chair”, she ordered.

“Perhaps you’d prefer this one instead mother?” Francesco suggested touching Melanie’s hair again “she smells so much nicer”.

Rosanna smirked “alright. Tie up the ginger girl!” she ordered.

“No! Take your hands off me!” Amy shouted as Carlo dragged her over to a wall and stuffed her hands in the shackles. Francesco pushed Melanie down into the chair and fastened her wrists with the straps.

“Nothing to say girl?” Rosanna asked Melanie who’d not been as vocal as Amy.

“Are you afraid of storms?” Melanie asked “because if you touch me…there will be one hell of a storm after you”.

Rosanna smirked, not at all afraid of her words. “I’m a Sister of the Water. I can weather any storm”, she said.

“Trust me…you won’t be able to”, Melanie countered.

“I tire of this conversation. Francesco” the man pulled Melanie’s hair back. The brunette screamed as Rosanna sank her fangs into the neck.

 _‘DOCTOR_!’

~Corridor~

The Doctor heard Melanie’s scream again and ran faster.

~underground chamber~

Rosanna pulled away from Melanie’s neck, licking her lips. The brunette is paler now, her breathing uneven due to having so much blood taken from her.

“Mother…where you drink from her, may we share?” Francesco pleaded “I’m so thirsty”.

“Of course, darling”, Rosanna replied. Francesco bent his head down to Melanie’s neck and bit into her skin. Melanie’s closed.

 _‘Doctor…help…’_ she mentally whispered.

~corridor~

_‘Doctor…help…’_

The Doctor stopped suddenly feeling as if he had doused with ice water. Her mental plea sounded so quiet…so weak…

“Doctor?” Rory asked seeing that the Time Lord had stopped, looking startlingly pale as if he’d gotten a horrible shock.

“They’re draining her”, he whispered.

“Who? Amy?” Rory asked taking a step closer to the Doctor.

The Time Lord shook his head “No, not her” Rory relaxed slightly “Elle…they’re draining Elle”. He blinked. They were draining Melanie…his Bonded…the Doctor’s shock rapidly faded away becoming quickly replaced by anger. They were _draining_ his Bonded! _No. Not on my watch_ the Doctor thought, tightening his grip on the ultra violet light. “Come on!” the Doctor snapped and marched off down the corridor. Rory quickly hurried after him.

~underground chamber~

Melanie blearily blinked as Francesco finally pulled away from her neck, she felt so tired! Francesco smacked his lips “mmm. She tasted as good as she smelled”, he said humming in contentment. Melanie didn’t have the strength to glare at him or give a comeback of any sort.

 _‘Do…ct…or’_ she mentally called thought it had taken an enormous effort to do so.

“This is how it works”, Rosanna said “First, we drink you until you're dry. Then…we fill you with our blood. It rages through you like a fire, changing you, until one morning you awake and your humanity is a dream now…faded”.

“Or you die”, Francesco added with a dark chuckle “That can happen”.

“What happens if we survive?” Amy called from over by the wall having heard what they said. She’d tried to get out of the shackles to help her friend but it was no use. They were on too tight!

“Then there are ten thousand husbands waiting for you in the water”, Rosanna told her.

 _‘Hang on Elle! I’m coming!’_ the Doctor said, his voice full of promise. For once Melanie actually heard him as clear as a bell. That was enough to make Melanie gather what little strength she had left.

“Well…then we’ve got a bit of a problem”, she said her voice shaky “Ames is engaged and I’m taken!” Melanie kicked out at Rosanna, catching her right hip with her foot. An electronic hum filled the air and Rosanna pulls back her skirt to reveal a device clipped underneath it. Melanie’s eyes widened and Amy gasped when Rosanna’s image flickered briefly to show an insectoid creature with a fish head.

Rosanna started towards Melanie when she and the others heard the Doctor shouting above them. “Rory, come on!”

Francesco, Rosanna and Carlo hurry out of the room.

~Corridor~

The Doctor and Rory was forced to stop when Francesco, Rosanna and Carlo block their way. “Where is she?” the Doctor almost snarled at the trio.

“You mean the ginger or the brunette?” Francesco asked “because the brunette was…” he smirked “delicious”. 

The Doctor’s face darkened and he actually took a step towards Francesco fully intending of unleashing the Oncoming Storm at him….to make him suffer tenfold for what he did to his Bonded… and then _she_ appeared.

The Doctor lowered the ultra violet light slightly, staring at Melanie. She didn’t look well at all. She couldn’t even stand properly as Amy and Isabella were supporting her. “Quickly, through here!” Isabella said gesturing with her head at the corridor that they’d just come through. The Doctor practically shoved the ultraviolet light at Rory, took Melanie from the girls, gathering her up in his arms. He then followed Isabella along the corridor, Rory and Amy on their heels.

“They're not vampires!” Amy shouted as they ran.

“What?” the Doctor asked.

“I saw them. I saw her. They're not vampires, they're aliens!” Amy said.

“The old classic”, the Doctor muttered shifting Melanie in his arms so that he could get his sonic out of his pocket and use it on the door. He stepped through the door first, Amy, Rory and Isabella following him in quick succession. Amy hung back for a moment so she could slam the door shut, though it probably wasn’t going hold them back for long. The group race along the tunnel, Isabel in the lead this time around. She opened a door allowing sunlight to spill in. By the canal was Guido. He perked up seeing his daughter.

The Doctor with Melanie secure in his arms rushed out first. Then came Amy and Rory. Isabella stopped in the doorway, hand up to the sunlight. “Isabella, come on!” the Doctor urged.

“I can’t!” she cried before she was dragged back inside. The Doctor watched the wooden door swing shut, utterly torn. He wanted to help her, he really did but he also had to take care of Melanie. And as his Bonded was always going to be his top priority, he just stood there with the unconscious brunette in his arms, staring at the door with heavy hearts.

~Throne room~

Rosanna walked into the main room and was surprised to see the Doctor sitting on the throne. “Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you…Sister of the Water?” he asked in a calm voice, though he was far, far from calm. This alien was the reason that his Bonded was currently lying unconscious at Guido’s house.

“Let me guess. The owner of the psychic paper”, Rosanna stated “Then I take it you're a refugee, like me?”

“I'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer”, the Doctor said. As much as he wanted to kill her for what she did, he also needed answers. Revenge could come later “You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank…hence no reflection”.

“Your question?” Rosanna asked.

“Why can we see your big teeth?” the Doctor questioned.

Rosanna laughed “Self-preservation over rides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain”, she explained.

“Where's Isabella?” the Doctor demanded.

Rosanna just smirked shaking her head “My turn. Where are you from?” she countered.

“Gallifrey”, the Doctor replied.

“You should be in a museum…” Rosanna remarked “Or in a mausoleum”.

“Why are you here?”

“We ran from the Silence”, Rosanna answered “Why are you here?”

“Double date”, the Doctor said quickly “The Silence?”

“There were cracks. Some were tiny…some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people, and through others we saw Silence and the end of all things…we fled to an ocean like ours…and the crack snapped shut behind us. Saturnyne was lost”

“So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark Two?” the Doctor asked brow raised.

“And you can help me” Rosanna smiled at him “We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?”

The Doctor stood up and walked over to her “Where's Isabella?” he asked in a whisper.

“Isabella?” Rosanna frowned.

“The girl who saved my Bonded”

“Oh, deserters must be executed”, Rosanna said waving off the question “Any general will tell you that. I need an answer, Doctor. A partnership. Any which way you choose”.

The Doctor scoffed, stepping back “Never gonna happen for two _very_ important reasons. One, I’m spoken for…and two…you hurt my Bonded” his expression turned angry “I would NEVER work with someone who did that. And that’s why this ends _today_. I will _tear_ down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone” and with that he turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

~Guido's home~

The Doctor caresses Melanie’s cheek gently as he sat on the edge of the bed. As soon as he’d gotten back to the home, he immediately went to her side. “What did you find out?” Amy asked breaking the tense silence that hung in the room the moment the Doctor had returned.

“Signora Calvierri’s planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time and end up here”, the Doctor replied, not taking his gaze away from Melanie “then she closes off the city and, one by one, starts changing the people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool” he continued, his mind working in overdrive to figure out what Rosanna was truly up to “But then what? They come from the sea. They can't survive for ever on land, so what's she going to do? Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable…” 

“Like what? Sink Venice?” Amy asked sarcastically. The Doctor stiffened, realising that was _exactly_ what Rosanna was going to do.

“She’s gonna sink Venice”, he breathed turning to look at Amy.

“She's…she’s going to sink Venice?” Guido repeated.

“And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed”, the Doctor added.

Rory frowned “You can't repopulate somewhere with just women. You need blokes”, he pointed out.

“She's got blokes”, Amy replied.

“Where?” the Doctor asked.

“Ten thousand in the water”, Melanie murmured. The Doctor glanced down at her, seeing that she’d awoken.

“Hey”, he said softly.

“Hi”, Melanie said back equally quietly. The Doctor reached out, gently touched her face, the brunette leaning into his touch. She had no idea how relieved he was that she’d finally woken up.

Suddenly they heard a clattering noise on the wood above them. “The people upstairs are very noisy”, the Doctor remarked.

“There aren't any people upstairs”, Guido said.

The Time Lord groaned “Do you know, I knew you were going to say that. Did anyone else know he was going to say that?” he asked.

“I didn’t”, Melanie replied pushing herself into a sitting position. The Doctor put an arm around her, making her lean against him.

“Is it the vampires?” Rory asked.

“Like I said, they're not vampires. Fish from space”, the Doctor corrected.

There was a loud thump and glass broke as the converted girls appeared at the windows and from the stairs. Rory snatched up the ultra violet light that had been leaning against the table using it on the girls to keep them back. “Aren't we on the _second_ floor?” he shouted.

The Doctor got out his sonic, stood up slightly, still making sure that Melanie was supported and used the sonic on the girls revealing their true selves.

“What's happened to them?” Guido gasped.

“There's nothing left of them”, the Doctor said sadly “They've been fully converted. Ok, move!” he ordered.

They ran for the stairs, Amy and Rory heading down them first. They were followed by the Doctor who’d scooped up Melanie into his arms. Guido brought up the rear.

“Give me the lamp”, Guido said holding his hand out for it. Rory passed it to Amy who leant around the Doctor to give it to Guido. He turns and uses it on the girls who were pursuing them.

The group then continue down the stairs and outside. “Stay away from the door”, Guido ordered before stepping back inside, shutting the door behind him, locking the others out.

The Doctor set Melanie down, handing her over to Rory and Amy. He then rushed over to the door “Guido What are you doing?” he demanded banging on the door. Guido didn’t respond. The Doctor got out his sonic, trying it on the door but it didn’t work. He eyes widened when the instrument picked up something else. “Run!” the Doctor shouted at Amy, Rory and Melanie. The engaged couple turned and ran, partially pulling Melanie along with them. The Doctor also spun around and ran away as fast as he could.

He was only mere feet away when the house exploded, the force knocking him off his feet. The Doctor jumped to his feet, darting over to the trio. “You ok?” Melanie asked looking at him concerned.

“Fine”, he replied “Rosanna's initiating the final phase”, he added hearing shouting from the streets.

“We need to stop her”, Amy stated “Come on”. She started off only for the Doctor to stop her.

“No. Get back to the TARDIS”, he ordered “take Elle with you”.

“You can't stop her on your own”, Amy argued.

“We don't discuss this!” the Doctor snapped “I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it. Huh?”

Hurt in her eyes, Amy stormed off. “Thank you”, Rory said thankful that the Doctor did that.

“You're welcome”, Rory said. He gently took Melanie’s arm and led her off. They hadn’t gotten very far when Melanie asked him to stop. “Elle, the Doctor wants us to go back to the TARDIS”, he told her.

“I know…but Rory he’s my Bonded. I have to help him”

Rory took one look at her determined expression and nodded. “Will you be able to get there on your own?” he asked. She still didn’t look so stable on her feet.

“I’ll be fine”, Melanie replied “you better hurry, you don’t wanna lose Amy”.

“Right…good luck and be careful”

“you too”, Melanie said and they parted ways.

The brunette ran through the street back towards the school. She as she ran, her steps grew more unsteady. But she persevered, knowing she _had_ to get back to the school. She had to her the Doctor! Melanie stumbled, tripping over her own feet. She cried out as she hit the ground, hard. Dark dots appeared in her vision…the last thing she saw before succumbing to the darkness was an older man wearing a dark suit with a red lining.

\--------------

The 12th Doctor sat patiently by Melanie’s beside while he waited for her to wake up. He knew that he should’ve just taken her to the TARDIS, his previous regeneration’s one that is, and left. But he couldn’t do it. She was his Bonded. It was his job to take care of her.

Minutes ticked by and still nothing.

Then…Melanie began to stir. “Who are you?” she asked staring at the 12th Doctor. She was still pretty groggy from the lack of blood.

“I’m just a friend”, the 12th Doctor answered “and you need more rest. Still pretty weak”.

“Ok”, Melanie murmured, her eyes already starting to close. The 12th Doctor leant over and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

“I love you Elle”, he said quietly. Knowing that his previous regeneration would be back very soon, he had to leave. The Time Lord stepped out of the TARDIS and headed over to the corner of a building where he watched the 11th Doctor run over to the blue box, closely followed by Amy and Rory. The trio entered the TARDIS and a moment later it disappeared.


	7. Amy's Choice

“Now are you sure your feeling up to it?” the Doctor asked Melanie for the 5th time. The brunette levelled a glare at him.

“For the last time Doctor, yes I am feeling up to seeing my best friend and her husband. No fever is going to stop me”, she said in a firm tone.

“Ok, ok” the Doctor took her hands “but if that temperature of yours gets any higher or if you feel dizzy, we’re coming straight back here”. Her health was far more important to him than visiting Amy and Rory. She would always, _always_ come first, not matter what. Melanie nodded in agreement.

The pair walked out of the TARDIS, the Doctor’s hand resting on the small of Melanie’s back. The Time Lord stepped over the retaining wall first, knocking at stone from it before helping his Bonded down. “Hey Rory!” Melanie greeted seeing Rory come out of the small house.

“Hey Elle, Doctor”, Rory said back and then he frowned seeing the state his friend was in “you ok Elle?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Got a bit of a fever”, Melanie replied “the Doctor’s been great looking after me”.

“Well…I am a _doctor_ Elle”, the Doctor pointed out “Oh…and I kinda crushed your flowers Rory. Sorry”.

“Oh, Amy will kill you”, Rory said.

“Where is Ames?” Melanie asked glancing towards the house wondering where the ginger was.

“She'll need a bit longer”, Rory told them.

“Whenever you're ready, Amy”, the Doctor called. Moments later a heavily pregnant Amy waddles out. “Oh, way-hey! You've swallowed a planet”, the Time Lord remarked. Melanie whacked him upside the head. “Ow! What was that for?” he asked rubbing his head, pouting at his Bonded.

“She’s not swallowed a planet, she’s pregnant dummy”, Melanie said “congrats you two”.

“Thanks”, Amy said resting a hand on her stomach.

“So…is it a boy or girl?” Melanie asked nodding to her bump.

“We don’t know. Going to keep it a surprise”, Rory answered and Melanie nodded in understanding.

“So…um…what shall we do?” the Doctor asked.

\-----------------

The four of them walk down the lane. “Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever”, the Doctor remarked taking in their surroundings as they walked.

“It's _Upper_ Leadworth, actually”, Rory corrected “We've gone slightly upmarket”.

“Where is everyone?” the Doctor asked.

“This is busy”, Amy replied “OK, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their nineties”.

“Well, don't let that get you down”, the Doctor said earning him another light whack from Melanie.

“What he means to say is that this the perfect place to raise a baby”, Melanie said to Amy after giving the Time Lord a look “nice, quiet and stress free”.

“Yeah…that’s what I meant”, the Doctor agreed. Amy and Melanie exchanged looks, shaking their heads. The group stopped by a bench, settling down on to it. “You know, I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS”, the Doctor said after a moment, putting at arm around Melanie when she shivered “This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of your old pal the Doctor so easily”.

“You made him come here Elle, didn’t you?” Amy asked Melanie.

“Yep”, Melanie asked popping the p “thought 5 years was long enough. You guys are my best friends after all”.

“So…what do you do around here to stave off the, you know…” the Doctor trailed not quite knowing how to finish.

“Boredom?” Amy supplied.

“Self-harm”, the Doctor corrected getting another whack from Melanie “will you seriously stop that!” he grumbled.

“I’ll stop when you learn not to be rude”, Melanie said. She didn’t usually whack him that often, just occasionally but her fever was making her a little more irritable towards the Doctor.

“If you must know Doctor, we relax…we live, listen to the birds”, Rory said.

“Yeah, see, birds. Those are nice”, Amy agreed as birdsong started up.

“We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the Tardis days, did we?” Rory asked. The Birdsong grew louder making them all feel a bit drowsy.

“Oh blimey, my head's a bit. Ooh…” the Doctor holds his head in his hand for a moment before he quickly sat up “No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good…” the Time Lord starts to drift off, so does Amy, Rory and Melanie “old…days”. Melanie’s head drops onto his shoulder as they all fall asleep.

\------------------------------

The Doctor wakes up to find himself on the console floor. He rolled over and saw Melanie starting to stir. “That was weird”, she mumbled sitting up. She didn’t really have chance to properly wake up as the Doctor gave her a hug. “Uh…what are you doing?” Melanie asked when he got out his sonic and scanned her.

“Healthy”, he said looking thoroughly relieved which confused Melanie even more. He hugged her again “I had a terrible nightmare”, the Doctor said “but its ok, now. You’re safe and that’s all that matters”.

“Uh huh”, Melanie said still confused. What nightmare did he have about her that made him act this way? Before she could ask him, she noticed Amy and Rory over the Doctor’s shoulder.

“Is everything ok?” Amy asked gaining the Time Lord’s attention. He helped Melanie to her feet before going over to the ginger and hugged her as well.

“Thank god you two are ok as well”, he said “terrible…terrible nightmare”, he added with a mutter. Amy looked at Melanie over the Doctor’s shoulder and the brunette just shrugged. The Time Lord stepped back “Blimey. Never dropped off like that before”, he remarked lightly “Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console?” he examined the console where red lights were flashing away “Red flashing lights...I bet they mean something”.

“Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing”, Rory spoke up.

“Yeah, so did I”, Amy added.

“Not a nightmare, though, just…we were married”, Rory continued.

“Yeah”, Amy nodded “in a little village”.

“A sweet little village, and you were pregnant”

“Was I in your dream?” Melanie asked. If she was present _and_ with a fever then it would be the exact same dream as she had.

“Yes, you were”, Amy replied “You and the Doctor were visiting though you didn’t look well”.

“That’s the same dream I had”, Melanie told her.

“Me too”, Rory said and then he frowned “How can we all have the same dream?” he asked “It doesn't make any sense”.

Amy turned to the Doctor “And you had a nightmare about us. What happened to us in the nightmare?” she asked.

“It was a bit similar, in some aspects”, the Doctor said evasively.

“Which aspects?” Rory questioned.

“Well…all of them”, the Time Lord admitted.

“You had the _same_ dream”, Amy stated folding her arms.

“Basically”, the Doctor said.

“But you said it was a nightmare”, Rory reminded him.

“My Bonded was ill. That made it a nightmare”, the Doctor said bluntly “Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track” quiet birdsong started up “Forget it. We're back to reality now”.

“Uh Doctor? If we're back to reality, how come I can still hear birds?” Melanie asked as it grew louder.

“Yeah, the same birds”, Rory agreed “The same ones we heard in the…”

~Leadworth~

“…Dream” Rory quickly pulled his head away from the Doctor’s, embarrassed “Oh! Sorry. Nodded off. Stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS”. The Doctor turned to Melanie, noting that she was looking worse. He used his sonic, checking her temperature. It was higher than before.

 _Right, it was time to get her back to the TARDIS._ The Doctor stood up bringing Melanie with him before he gathered her up into his arms. “Doctor, what is going on?” Rory asked hurrying after the Time Lord, who was walking quickly away with his Bonded.

“Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lordy thing because you've shown up again?” Amy questioned, huffing slightly as she tried to keep up. Not easy when she had this extra weight she was carrying.

The Doctor stopped and turned to Amy and Rory. “Listen to me. Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel”, he said.

“But we're awake now”, Rory argued.

“Yeah. You thought you were awake on the TARDIS, too”, the Doctor retorted.

“But we're home”, Amy insisted.

“Yeah, you're home”, the Doctor agreed “You're also dreaming. Trouble is, which is which? Are we flashing forwards or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky one”. He tightened his grip on Melanie as the birdsong started up for the third time.

~TARDIS~

When the Doctor woke next he was laying on the stairs, Melanie next to him. He checked her first, extremely relieved to see that she was still perfectly fine. He then jumped up, practically lunging for the console, gripping a lever. “Oh, this is bad. I don't like this”, he said when the lever wouldn’t budge despite the fact that he was using all of his strength. He stepped back and kicked the console. “Argh! Never use force. You just embarrass yourself”, he said crossly “Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force”.

“Shall I run and get the manual?” Melanie asked following the Doctor down the set of stairs which led beneath the console.

“I threw it in a supernova”, the Doctor replied checking the underside of the console.

“You threw the manual in a supernova? Why?” Amy questioned having followed the pair. Rory had also joined them beneath the console as well.

“Because I disagreed with it”, the Doctor said “Stop talking to me when I'm cross” he wagged his finger at the ginger.

“Okay, but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?” Rory asked.

“If we were dreaming of the future…” the Doctor muttered heading back up the stairs. He didn’t want it to be the future because Melanie was ill. Granted it was only a fever but what if it was a precursor for something worse?

No! He couldn’t think like that. Melanie was fine now and she will be fine several years down the line. He’d give anything to make sure of it.

“Well, of course we were. We were in Leadworth”, Amy argued.

“Upper Leadworth”, Rory corrected.

“Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this. Don't you get it?” the Doctor asked her.

“No, OK, no this is real. I'm definitely awake now”, Amy insisted.

“And you thought you were definitely awake when you were all elephanty”, the Doctor retorted.

“Hey! Pregnant!”

“And you could be giving birth right now”, the Doctor shot back “This could be the dream. I told you. Trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true”.

“Ok, we're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside”, Rory stated.

“With a bow tie-wearing alien”, Amy added.

“I’m the Bonded of bow tie wearing alien”, Melanie put in holding a hand up.

“So maybe what rings true isn't so simple”, Rory remarked.

“Valid point”, the Doctor agreed. Suddenly the TARDIS is plunged into darkness save the light coming from the console. The Doctor moved over to Melanie, putting an arm around her, holding her close.

Birdsong started up once more and Rory hugs Amy. “Remember, this is real. But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels”, the Doctor told them all, tightening his grip on Melanie. She gripped the front of his jacket as the light on the TARDIS console began to dim.

“It is real. I know it's real”, Amy said firmly.

~Leadworth~

“Okay, this is the real one”, Amy said from the bench outside the library where she and Rory were sitting “Definitely this one”, she rubs her stomach “It's all solid”.

“It felt solid in the TARDIS too”, the Doctor pointed out from where he knelt in front of Melanie checking her worriedly as she’d yet to wake up. Though he knew that this was possibly the dream but he couldn’t help but feel concerned for the health of his Bonded. “You can't spot a dream while you're having it” the Time Lord waved a hand in front of his face.

“What are you doing?” Melanie mumbled, looking at him blearily.

“Looking for motion blur, pixilation”, the Doctor replied “It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though. How are you feeling?”

“Utterly rotten”, Melanie answered.

“Did you want to go back to the TARDIS?” he asked.

Melanie shook her head “we need to figure out what’s going on”, she said “besides isn’t it better if we stick together? Especially with this flashing between here and the TARDIS”. The Doctor could see that she did make a good point but it did make it harder for him to decide what was best. Taking her to the TARDIS may be the best thing for her health, however what if they flashed back to the dream or reality or whatever it was and she wasn’t there? “Look, if it gets even worse I’ll go to the TARDIS”, Melanie continued “with no arguments”.

The Doctor sighed but nodded in agreement. As he helped her up, an elderly lady walked past. “Hello, Doctor”, she called to Rory.

“Hi”, he said and the same time that the Doctor said

“Hello” the Time Lord looked at Rory with some surprise “You're a doctor”, he stated.

“Yeah. And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams”, Rory said giving the Doctor a smug look.

“A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting”, the Doctor remarked.

“What is?” Rory asked.

“Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Maybe this is your dream”, the Doctor surmised.

“It's Amy's dream too. Isn't it, Amy?” Rory asked glancing at his fiancé.

“Yes. Course it is, yeah”, the ginger replied. Melanie frowned. She couldn’t be sure but it sounded like Amy was a little hesitant? Maybe that was just the fever talking…or muddling her brain.

“What's that?” the Doctor suddenly asked pointing to an old people’s home.

“Old people's home”, Amy answered.

“You said everyone here lives to their nineties”, the Doctor said “There's something here that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick”. He took Melanie’s hand and hurried off, Rory following.

“Oh. Can we not do the running thing?” Amy grumbled, hands on her back as she chased after them.

“You’re not the only one who doesn’t wanna run”, Melanie piped up having heard her. Though she didn’t want to go back to the TARDIS, the last thing she wanted was to be pulled around all over the place by the Doctor.

“Sorry Elle”, the Doctor said slowing down slightly.

“Sure, slow down for your sick Bonded but not the pregnant lady”, Amy grumbled under her breath.

~Care home~

The four eventually entered the care home. Where they went into the lounge and Rory was greeted by another old lady. “Hello, Rory love”

“Hello, Mrs Poggit. How's your hip?” he asked.

“A bit stiff”, Mrs Poggit replied.

“Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus…” the Doctor trailed off realising that they didn’t have that medicine just yet “No, you don't have that yet. Forget that”.

“Who's your friend? A junior doctor?” Mrs Poggit asked Rory.

“Yes”, Rory replied.

“Can I borrow you?” Mrs Poggit asked the Doctor “You're the size of my grandson”. The Time Lord knelt down in front of the old lady whom pulled an ugly knitted sweater over his head.

“Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out” he leaned forward, forcing Mrs Poggit to sit back “You're incredibly old, aren't you?” he remarked eyeing the old lady.

“Not again”, Melanie groaned hearing the birdsong. The residents of the care home watch as she, Rory, Amy and the Doctor pass out on the carpet.

~TARDIS~

The four of them wake to find that they’re all leaning against the console with the exception of Melanie who was laying on the jump seat.

“Okay, I hate this, Doctor”, Amy stated standing up “Stop it, because this is definitely real. It's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?”

“Yeah you do Ames”, Melanie said sitting up.

“It's bloody cold”, Rory remarked rubbing his arms. It didn’t feel cold to Melanie, it felt like room temperature. She really hoped that she wasn’t getting a fever here too. The last thing she needed was to be sick in both worlds or dreams or whatever the heck they were.

“The heating's off”, the Doctor said bluntly as he headed up the stairs to the upper level.

“The heating's off?” Rory repeated.

“Yeah. Put on a jumper. That's what I always do”, the Doctor told him.

“Yes. Sorry about Mrs Poggit”, Rory said apologetically “She's so lovely though”.

“I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you”, the Doctor told him seriously.

“What do you mean, ‘act’?” Amy asked.

“Everything's off, sensors, core power”, the Doctor said making his way back down to the console “We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something, is overriding my controls”.

Suddenly a hologram of a man appeared at the top of the steps. “Well, that took a while”, he remarked and walked down the steps “Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie”.

“How did you get into my TARDIS?” the Doctor demanded, wary of this newcomer especially since Melanie was present “What are you?”

“What shall we call me? Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord”, the man said.

“Nice look”, the Doctor said eyeing the Dream Lord’s attire. It was very similar to his own.

“This?” the Dream Lord pointed to himself “No, I'm not convinced” he turned to Melanie “what do you think, my dear?” he asked. Before she could answer however, the Doctor quickly threw a tennis ball at the Dream Lord…and it passed through him.

“Interesting”, the Doctor commented as the Dream Lord turned back to him with an amused look on his face.

“I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It's in the name, isn't it? Spooky. Not quite there…” the Dream Lord vanished and popped up behind Melanie, startling her “…and yet very much here”. He gave the brunette an apologetic look “Sorry, my dear”, he said sounding like he genuinely hadn’t meant to scare her.

The Doctor darted forward pulling Melanie away from the Dream Lord and placing her protectively behind him. “I'll do the talking, thank you”, the Doctor said glaring at the ‘man’. “Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?”

“Um, Dream Lord. He creates dreams”, the ginger answered.

“Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks”, the Doctor spat.

“What about the lovely Elle? Does she get a guess?” the Dream Lord asked giving the brunette a warm smile, earning him an angry look from the Doctor “or will the gooseberry get a turn?” the Dream Lord nodded at Rory.

“Listen, mate. If anyone's the gooseberry round here, it's the Doctor”, Rory said.

“Well now, there's a delusion I'm not responsible for”, the Dream Lord said with a shrug.

“No, he is”, Rory insisted “Isn't he, Amy?”

“Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out”, the Dream Lord said “Choose, even”.

“I have chosen. Of course I've chosen” without taking her eyes off of the Dream Lord, she smacks Rory in the chest “It's you, stupid”.

“Oh, good”, Rory nodded “Thanks”.

The Dream Lord smirked at the ginger “You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams…some of them twice. You really ought to be ashamed of yourself Amy. He would never do any of those things, not when he has a Bonded”.

“Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?” the Doctor asked.

“Me?” the Dream Lord raised his eyebrows “Oh, you're on shaky ground”.

“Am I?” the Doctor scoffed.

“If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student”, the Dream Lord glanced at Melanie “I know you’re his Bonded but what do you honestly see in him? Personally you’d be better off with his previous self. At least he was fairly handsome”. They watched the Dream Lord vanish, reappearing on the upper level “So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep” birdsong started up, Amy and Rory succumbing straight away. Melanie too fell asleep, the Doctor quickly grabbing her before she hit the floor. He held her, trying desperately to stay awake but he failed. The Dream Lord watched the Doctor fall to the floor, Melanie secured in his arms.

~Care home~

The Doctor, Amy and Rory woke in the lounge of the care home and discovered that the residents were gone. Melanie on the other hand was still asleep. The Doctor crawled over to his Bonded and gently touched her face, a worried look appearing when he felt that her skin was still rather hot.

Then the Dream Lord walked in carrying an X-ray in his hand. “Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad. Look at this X-ray” he held it up to the light “Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor”.

“Always?” Amy asked “What do you mean, always?”

“Now then, the prognosis is this. If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality”, the Dream Lord said “Healthy recovery in next to no time. And for Elle, that would be a good thing” he nodded to the sleeping brunette “Ask me what happens if you die in reality?”

“What happens?” Rory asked.

“You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality”, the Dream Lord said scornfully.

“Have you met the Doctor before? Do you know him?” Amy glanced at the Doctor “Doctor, does he?”

The Time Lord didn’t look at her, his attention was too focused on Melanie. “Now don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy”, the Dream Lord told Amy “But never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning”. The Dream Lord vanished.

“Ok, I don't like him”, Rory stated.

“Who is he?” Amy asked the Doctor, folding her arms.

“I don't know. It's a big universe”, the Time Lord answered, his gaze still on Melanie.

“Why is he doing this?” Amy demanded getting a bit annoyed that he was distracted by the brunette.

“Maybe because he has no physical form”, the Doctor replied “That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel”. He tugged the knitted jumper over his head, tossing it aside.

“What does he mean, deadly danger, though?”, Rory asked.

“I don’t know Rory!” the Doctor snapped.

“Anger…is the shortest distance to a mistake”, Melanie said quietly. The Doctor glanced down at her and gave her a slightly relieved smile “Sorry for not waking sooner. Feeling a little drowsy and the Dream Lord is not helping”.

“That’s ok” the Doctor helped her sit up “you’re awake now and that’s all that matters”.

“Now that Elle is awake, can we focus on the deadly danger?” Amy piped up.

“Deadly danger?” Melanie asked confused.

“There isn’t a danger, deadly or otherwise”, the Doctor quickly said “aside from switching between here and the TARDIS, we’re perfectly safe”.

“For the moment”, Amy muttered causing the Doctor to shoot her a ‘you’re not helping’ look. Melanie didn’t seem to notice as she was looking around the now empty room. She frowned.

“Where’s all the old people?” she asked. The Doctor glanced around and finally noticed that they were alone. He should’ve realised sooner but he was a tad occupied by the brunette’s slowly dwindling health.

“They've all gone”, he breathed “They've all gone”. The Doctor got to his feet, helped Melanie up and exited the care home with her. Amy and Rory followed the pair.

“Why would they leave?” Rory asked as the Doctor watched some children enter the ruined castle with their teacher.

“And what did you mean about Mrs Poggit's nice old lady act?” Amy questioned.

“One of my tawdry quirks. Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem”, the Doctor said “So, come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in… time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams”.

“And we're all dreaming the same dream at the same time”, Rory added.

“Yes”, the Time Lord nodded “sort of communal trance. Very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway, a tell, but my mind isn't working because this village is so dull! I'm slowing down, like you two have”, the Doctor grumbled.

“Doctor…I don’t….” Melanie managed to say before she collapsed. Luckily the Doctor was standing next to her so he was able to support her quickly before she hit the floor. The Time Lord carefully sat down on the ground, cradling her in his arms. He really, really hoped that this was the dream…or in his case a nightmare because it was physically killing him to see her in this state. Sickness was the one thing he couldn’t protect her from and he hated that with a passion. She was his Bonded. It was his job to protect her. But now she was suffering and he didn’t know what to do.

Then he heard that dreaded birdsong.

~TARDIS~

The Doctor stood at the console, Melanie by his side. A moment later Amy and Rory joined them. “It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?” Amy asked rubbing her arms.

“What does it matter if we're cold?” the Doctor said irritably. When Melanie shot him a look, he apologised to Amy “Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff down there”, he gestured to the steps “Have a look”.

Amy turns and heads down the steps, Rory following after her, zipping up his hoodie at he did so. the Doctor shrugged off his coat and offered it to Melanie.

“I don’t need it, I’m not cold”, Melanie said.

“Elle, you’re sick in that other place”, the Doctor reminded her “I don’t want you to get sick here too”.

“And I appreciate the gesture but I don’t feel cold, honestly”, Melanie insisted. She winced when the Doctor put the back of his hand against her forehead as his skin was a tiny bit cold. The Time Lord frowned when he felt how warm she was. It felt like normal body temperature to him.

“How warm does this room feel to you?” he asked.

“Um…room temperature?” Melanie guessed “hey, maybe this is the dream giveaway you were looking for!” she added brightly.

“Yeah…maybe”, the Doctor agreed half-heartedly.

“You don’t seem happy about that”, Melanie remarked with a frown.

“I am…it’s just…” the Doctor sighed.

“What is it?” Melanie asked.

“The other place, you were very sick…and I don’t want that to be the reality”, the Doctor admitted “I can’t lose you Elle. Not ever”. Melanie hugged him.

“You won’t. I’m your Bonded, Doctor. I’m with you always and forever” she drew back and pressed her lips against his “that’s a promise”, she whispered.

“I’m holding you to that”, the Doctor told her with a smile before he kissed her.

\-------------------

Melanie watched at the Doctor cobbled together some sort of device out of random odds and ends. “What does it do?” she asked.

“It’s a generator”, the Doctor replied “a few winds of this should give us enough to power up the monitor so we can see what’s going on”.

“You want me to…?” Melanie nodded to the device.

“I know you’d be capable but…” Rory then made an appearance followed by Amy “Ah, Rory, wind” the Doctor then gave Amy the attached wire “Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please”.

“I was promised amazing worlds. Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitcheny wind-up device”, Rory grumbled.

“It's a generator”, the Doctor answered “Get winding”.

“Why is the Dream Lord picking on you? Why us?” Rory questioned at he wound the hand held generator. The monitor screen beeps to life showing the four of them a starscape.

“Where are we?” Amy asked.

“We're in trouble”, the Doctor stated.

“What is that?” Rory questioned eyeing the screen.

“A star. A cold star”, the Doctor answered before rushing over to the doors and opens them, letting in a blinding light “That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality”, the Doctor closed the doors and goes to a large monitor on the wall.

“So this must be the dream”, Amy stated “There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn”.

“That star is burning too”, Melanie pointed out “It's just burning cold”.

“Is that possible?” Rory asked.

“I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always?” the Doctor headed to the console area and sits down, dejectedly. Melanie sat down beside him.

“It’s ok Doctor”, she said gently taking his hand “we’ll figure it out together”. The Doctor smiled at her knowing she was trying to make him feel better.

“So does that mean this is the dream?” Rory spoke up.

“I don't know”, the Doctor sighed “but there it is, and I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it. But that's not a problem”.

“What is the problem?” Melanie asked.

“We'll have frozen to death by then”, the Doctor answered.

“Then what’ll we do?” Amy asked.

The Doctor stood up, bringing Melanie with him “Stay calm”, he answered “Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle that we have to lose”.

“Oh, this is so you, isn't it?” Rory remarked, folding his arms, giving the Time Lord an annoyed look.

“What?” the Doctor asked.

“A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day. I just wanted a nice village and a family”, Rory said crossly.

The Dream Lord appeared behind the Doctor and Melanie. “Oh dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks. There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and….” He trailed off when he heard bird song “Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here”.

~Leadworth~

Melanie stood arms wrapped around herself, trying very hard from swaying on the spot while she watched the Doctor examined the piles of dust that were dotted all over the place.

“You see, this is the real one. I just feel it. Don't you feel it?” Rory said to Amy.

“I feel it both places”, Amy answered.

“I feel it here. It's just so tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here”, Rory said.

“D-doctor”, Melanie said shakily making the Time Lord look up at her. He immediately jumped to him feet.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly “do you feel faint? Sick? do you need to sit down?”

“T-TARDIS. Please”, Melanie answered. The Doctor nodded and carefully picked her up.

“Where are we going?” Amy asked as the Doctor walked quickly away with Melanie in his arms.

“The TARDIS”, the Doctor replied.

“But what about the deadly danger?” Amy questioned.

“I’ll deal with it after I get my Bonded back to the TARDIS”, the Doctor answered sharply. He hadn’t gone very far when he saw several of the elderly line up along the path, facing the park.

Suddenly the Dream Lord appeared between the old people and the Doctor, Rory and Amy. “Hello, peasants”, he said greeting the old people cheerfully “What's this, attack of the old people?” he remarked “Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy?” the Dream Lord asked “Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS. You first!” 

“Leave her alone!” the Doctor ordered.

“Oh, do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero”, the Dream Lord mocked “though it’s funny how you’re not much of a hero to your Bonded are you Doctor? I mean…if you’d taken her with you, that monster would _never_ have gotten his hands on her. Your previous self would never have left her behind and if he did for any reason…he would’ve hunted that man down and shown him why he’s called the Oncoming Storm”. The Dream Lord turned back to Amy “Now…how about that bus?”

“Just leave her alone”, Rory spoke up trying to match the Doctor’s tone.

“Yes, you're not quite so impressive”, the Dream Lord scoffed. He glanced at the ginger “but I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?”

“Shut up!”, Amy snapped “Just shut up and leave me alone”.

“But listen, you're in there”, the Dream Lord continued smirking at how uncomfortable Amy looked “Loves a redhead, the Doctor. Though I suppose he favours brunette now given who his Bonded is…”

“Drop it”, the Doctor interrupted “Drop all of it. I know who you are”.

“Course you don't”, the Dream Lord countered.

“Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do”, the Doctor said. It took him a while to figure it out but it finally made sense. 

“Never mind me!” the Dream Lord said “Maybe you should worry about them”. He then vanished. The old people open their mouths to reveal an eye.

“There is an eye in their mouths!” Amy exclaimed. Shifting Melanie slightly in his arms, the Doctor got out his sonic and used it.

“There's a whole creature inside all of them”, he stated “They've been there for years, living and waiting”.

Rory screwed his face up “That is disgusting. They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?” he asked hoping that wasn’t the case. Mrs Poggit leans forward and shoots a green mist from her mouth. The Doctor quickly stepped back not wanting Melanie, who was still in his arms, to get hit by it. Rory pulled Amy back to keep her safe too.

“Run!” the Doctor shouted at Amy and Rory as he tightened his arms around Melanie. The trio turned and took off.

\-----------------

The Doctor stumbled down the road, trying to fight off the urge to fall into a slumber as the birdsong echoed around him. His grip tightened on Melanie, desperate not to drop her as she was already unconscious. He really hoped that Amy and Rory were ok as they were forced to separate when a second group of elderly had joined the first.

The Time Lord practically fell into a butchers shop shoving the door shut with his shoulder and somehow managing to lock it even with Melanie in his arms. Behind the counter was the Dream Lord who was smirking at the Doctor.

“Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you?” the Dream Lord remarked “We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. Oh, but you're probably a vegetarian, aren't you, you big flop-haired wuss”.

“Oh, pipe down. I'm busy”, the Doctor snapped.

“Maybe you need a little sleep”, the Dream Lord commented. The bird song gets louder and the Doctor slips to the floor, fighting to stay awake. “Oh, wait a moment. If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things” the Doctor struggled to his feet, jostling Melanie but she didn’t stir. The Time Lord stumbled down the hall behind the counter as the elderly managed to get into the shop.

“Yes, we've got lots at ‘steak’ here this week”, the Dream Lord said with a smirk “Lots at steak, get it?” the Doctor clenched his jaw and forced himself to walk faster. He was not going to let his Bonded be harmed by those ‘elderly people’. “Are these jokes wasted on you?” 

The Doctor ignored him and shouldered open another door. He set Melanie down against the wall and slammed the door shut, locking it with his sonic. Not a brief second later, he fell to the floor, fast asleep.

~TARDIS~

The Doctor woke up on the glass floor with something warm curled up against him. It was Melanie. He didn’t move. He wanted to savour the warmth she was giving off. This had been one of the things that had helped him figure out _who_ the Dream Lord was.

“How cold is it?” Melanie mumbled to the Doctor, having woken up to see him practically snuggled up against her.

“Very”, the Doctor replied. Melanie got to her feet earning a pout from the Doctor which the brunette didn’t see. She went over to Amy who was clutching the blanket tightly around herself. Melanie put an arm around her making the ginger jump at how warm she was.

“How are you warm?” Amy asked. It wasn’t like she was complaining. She was very grateful for it as the blanket wasn’t doing too much to keep the cold at bay.

“I have no idea”, Melanie replied rubbing Amy’s arm.

“That’s it!” Rory blurted out “This has to be the dream because out Elle isn’t cold and…burning ice? Come on”.

“I think he could be right”, Amy agreed.

“No, no, no. Ice _can_ burn”, the Doctor said “Sofas can read. It's a big universe. We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now”.

“Okay, which world do you think is real?” Amy asked.

“This one”, the Doctor answered quickly.

“No, the other one”, Rory argued “Elle _isn’t_ cold so unless she’s running a temperature…she should be feeling the cold just like the rest of us”.

“Elle is perfectly healthy here”, the Doctor told him.

“So this has to be dream”, Rory insisted.

“No, the other one has to be the dream”, the Doctor argued.

“Why?” Rory asked.

“Because Elle is sick!” the Doctor said loudly “and any reality where my Bonded is sick _has_ to be the dream or in my case, a nightmare!”

Melanie moved over to the Doctor and hugged him. “Whichever is the real one, we’ll figure it out together. Arguing isn’t helping the situation”, she said.

“You’re right Elle”, the Doctor agreed. He then checked his watch “if we’re going to figure it out, we better do it quick because we’re running out of time”, he added.

“If only we could split up or something”, Melanie mused aloud “two of us in one reality, two in the other”.

“That’s not a bad idea Elle”, the Doctor remarked “it _would_ give us an active presence in both worlds, but the Dream Lord keeps switching us between them. Why? Why? what's the logic?”

“Good idea, veggie”, the Dream Lord said popping up right by the Doctor and Melanie. Immediately the Time Lord put his Bonded protectively behind him. “Let’s divide you four up, so I can have a little chat with the ladies. Maybe I'll keep your Bonded but I’ll give you Amy. So you can have both her and Pointy Nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality”.

Bird song starts up. “Can you hear that?” Rory asked Amy.

“What? No”, Amy answered worried about being stuck with the Dream Lord.

“Elle, it’s going to be ok”, the Doctor assured her trying to fight off the song for as long as he could “I’ll be back for you, I promise”. He then collapsed onto the floor.

The Dream Lord smiled at the women. “We're going to have fun, aren't we?”

Melanie glanced at Amy and seeing her worried expression, resolved to stay strong, no matter what happened. She watched as the Dream Lord approached Amy “Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn't he, alone in the dark. Never apologises”, he mocked.

“He doesn't have to”, Amy said.

“That's good, because he never will”, the Dream Lord glanced at Melanie “and some Bonded he is. He’s left you with me”.

“Not through his own choice”, Melanie replied calmly “and he’ll be back. He promised”.

“You know, he made similar promise to Amy”, the Dream Lord said “He promised her he’d be 5 minutes. He well and truly broke that one didn’t he? But I suppose since you’re his Bonded, he’ll somehow manage to keep that promise”.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” Amy suddenly demanded, starting to get annoyed with the Dream Lord “The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him a while sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different”.

“Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trusts?” the Dream Lord asked raising his eyebrows.

“Actually, yes”, Amy replied. Melanie looked at the ginger wondering if she realised that she was still present in the room.

“The only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?” the Dream Lord questioned casting a glance at Melanie.

“Yes”, Amy answered.

“Well that’s a big lie right there”, the Dream Lord said “She is the Doctor’s Bonded”, he stated pointing to Melanie “which you seemed to conveniently have forgotten was even here” Amy looked at the brunette with an apologetic look on her face “Elle is the one girl in the universe he’d tell everything to. _She_ is the one he trusts the most, not you Amy Pond”.

“Ok, you’ve made your point”, Melanie spoke up seeing how the words were affecting Amy.

“Have I made my point Amy?” the Dream Lord asked “because if I have then all you’ve got left to do is pick a world. Choose a reality and this nightmare will be over”.

Bird song started up and Amy fell to the glass floor, fast asleep leaving Melanie alone with the Dream Lord. “Why didn’t you send me to the other reality with her?” she asked.

“Because in this one you’re healthy, the other you’re not”, the Dream Lord answered.

“Yeah, well if the other reality is the dream then it’s your fault I’m sick”, Melanie shot back folding her arms. A flicker of regret passed over the Dream Lord's face. But as it passed so quickly Melanie couldn't be sure if that’s what she actually saw or if she just imagined it. “Ok, answer me this: why don’t I feel cold here?”

“Maybe you’re running a temperature”, the Dream Lord answered.

Melanie shook her head “the Doctor checked. I’m fine”, she said “so maybe _this_ is the dream”. The Dream Lord didn’t answer. He didn’t even react. “If this is the dream, that raises another point. I’m the only one who is warm. You’re the _Dream_ Lord. _You_ create dreams. So why make me the only one who doesn’t fee l the cold? And…you’re nice to me. Why?”

“Believe it or not Elle, I like you”, the Dream Lord answered “and because I do, I have a little something just for you".

The bird song started up for the umpteenth time, Melanie quickly succumbing to it.

\------

“Mummy! Mummy wake up!” a little boy shouted. Melanie opened her eyes to see a young boy with ginger hair was sitting there with his small hands on her shoulder. “Finally!” he huffed “I thought you were going to sleep all day”.

The bedroom door opened and the Doctor walked in carrying a girl of about 4 years old with wavy brown hair. “Orion, I thought I told you to wait while I got your sister before you woke up mummy”, the Doctor said in a mock stern tone.

“Sorry daddy”, Orion said apologetically “I just want to give mummy her present".

“That's alright sweetheart", Melanie said, sitting up properly “mummy is awake now and daddy is here with your sister. You can give me the present, if you like”.

Orion glanced at his father who nodded. The boy turned back to Melanie and held out a badly wrapped present. The brunette took it from him and unwrapped it. She smiled at the handmade pot that was inside the box. “Did you make this Orion?” Melanie asked the boy.

Orion nodded “yep! Daddy helped me paint it”, he said.

“It's amazing. I love it", Melanie said and lightly ruffled his hair. Orion quickly smoothed it down but he had a pleased smile on his little face.

“Amy has something for you as well”, the Doctor spoke up “isn't that right?” he asked, addressing the girl in his arms. She nodded. The Doctor walked forward and carefully deposited Amy into Melanie's open arms.

“Is this for me honey?” Melanie asked her daughter, noticing the envelope clutched in her hands. The girl nodded again. Melanie took it from her, opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper. On it were four stick figures. Two females and two males. It was very clear to Melanie that it was a family picture that Amy had drawn. There were also names under the figures in wobbly handwriting which was a pretty big clue. “I love it Amy, thank you”, Melanie said dropping a kiss on top of her head.

“I think we may have a little artist in the family”, the Doctor remarked looking lovingly at his wife holding his daughter.

“Yeah, I think we have”, Melanie agreed smiling as Amy snuggled closer.

“And I’ve got a little something for you later”, the Doctor said giving her a look, making a faint blush appear on Melanie’s face. It was rather strange for him to give her such a suggestive look, as the Doctor had never looked at her like that before. Melanie had to admit…she kinda liked it. “Right! Who wants to help me make mummy some breakfast?” the Doctor asked, his tone back to its normal childlike nature.

“Me!” both Amy and Orion cheered. Melanie watched as they both scrambled off the bed, charging after the Doctor who was running out of the room like the mad man he was. A smile worked its way onto her lips. Even though she _knew_ this was a dream, she couldn’t help but feel happy. She had a house, a husband and two wonderful children…to bad it wasn’t real.

“So do you like it then?” the Dream Lord asked as he popped up in the room.

“I shouldn’t because I know it’s not real but yeah, I do like it. I like it a lot”, Melanie answered honestly. She slipped out of bed.

“This is the life you deserve. A home…a family”, the Dream Lord said “a life full of fun, laughter and happiness”.

“You never know, I might get that one day”, Melanie said “only time will tell”.

“Yes, only time will tell” the Dream Lord looked around the room “it’s too bad I can’t give you more time here. Amy has made her choice. So I will bid you farewell” he smiled at her. Melanie heard the bird song start up once more “it was nice to meet you Elle. The Doctor has no idea how lucky he is. Do me a favour and remind him every once in a while?” Melanie nodded slowly, her eyes drifting shut. The Dream Lord watched as she fell to the carpeted floor before he vanished completely.

\----------------------

Melanie sat up on her bed, coming face to face with a relieved Doctor. “Thank god you’re awake. I was starting to get worried”, he said.

“I’m in my room”, she stated “Does that mean it’s over?”

The Doctor nodded “Yes, it is. Neither of those worlds were real. The Dream Lord was giving us a choice between two dreams”, he said.

Melanie shook her head “of course they were”, she muttered “So what exactly was the Dream Lord?”

“He was me”, the Doctor answered.

“How? He wasn’t exactly nice to you”, Melanie reminded him.

“That’s because it was the darkest parts of me”, the Doctor replied “but of course you being my Bonded, even that side of me still cared about you”.

“And how did that dark part of you become the Dream Lord?” Melanie questioned.

“Psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. It fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us”, the Doctor explained.

“But why did it only target you? why didn’t it go after me or Amy or Rory?” Melanie asked.

“Elle there isn’t a shred of darkness in you, so it would’ve starved to death instantly. Same for Amy and Rory”, the Doctor told her.

“So are they ok? Amy and Rory, I mean”

“They’re fine”, the Doctor replied.

“What about you? Are you ok?” Melanie asked watching his carefully for his response.

“I’m fine, just glad it’s over”, the Doctor said honestly.

“The Dream Lord said something to me before I fell asleep”, Melanie said after a moment of sitting there in silence.

“What did he say?” the Doctor asked. Melanie leant forward and kissed him softly.

“He told me to remind you how lucky you are that you have me”, she said when she pulled back.

“If that’s the way you’re going to remind me then I wouldn’t mind you reminding me often”, the Doctor said gently touching her face. Melanie smiled at him.

“Would you like another reminder?” she asked.

“Yes please”, the Doctor breathed. Melanie pressed her lips against his again. She let out a muffled noise of surprise when the Doctor tugged her onto his lap. As the kiss continued, the Doctor decided to be a little bolder by lightly nudging his tongue against her lips. Melanie parted them slightly, allowing his tongue entrance to her mouth. His Bonded let out a soft moan as his tongue lightly caressed hers. The Doctor closed his eyes, feeling the warmth flood over him as he kissed her. He loved this feeling. He _loved_ HER. His Melanie. His Bonded.

Eventually they parted, resting their foreheads together. “I love you Elle”, he murmured. His twin hearts soared when Melanie said in the softest tone imaginable

“I love you too”


	8. Hungry Earth

“Come on Elle, just pick something”, Amy urged getting just a little impatient with her friend. She’d already chosen and put on the outfit she wanted to wear while they visited Rio but Melanie was still looking!

“I don’t know what to choose”, Melanie huffed rifling through a rail of mid length skirts “there’s too many options!”

Amy sighed, marched over to a rail and pulled out a short denim skirt. She went over to another and selected a pale pink halter neck “wear these and you’re sure to render the Doctor speechless”, she said holding items out.

“Yeah…no. I don’t think so”, Melanie said firmly.

“Oh, come on Elle. You’ve got the figure to pull these kind of clothes off”, Amy said.

“Not with my scars I don’t”, Melanie said gesturing to the one on her face and neck.

“Well…what about this top?” Amy suggested showing her a vest top that would cover up the scars on her back nicely “it would keep you covered AND may help spur things along in your relationship with the Doctor”.

Melanie turned to the ginger confused “What do you mean? Spur things along?” she asked.

“Well…you guys are really sweet and all but has either of you said those 3 little words yet?” Amy questioned.

“As a matter of fact, we have”, Melanie replied.

“Really? When?”

“Just after the Dream Lord business. We kissed and then said ‘I love you”, Melanie said.

"About time!" she said happily. Melanie smiled at her friend and continued her search for a suitable top to go with the skirt. "So...how good a kisser is the Doctor?" Amy questioned.

Melanie didn't say anything, she just gave Amy a smile and carried on looking for a top. Though Amy was her best friend and she'd share everything with her, this was one thing she wanted to keep for herself...that the Doctor was an extremely good kisser. And when he decided to use his tongue...well...she really, really liked it. If she had to be honest, she wouldn't mind him doing that again or taking it a tad further.

"Oh come on Elle!" Amy protested "you gotta give me something. I thought we told each other everything".

"We do", Melanie agreed, pulling out a purple mid-length tie dyed skirt "but I want to keep this to myself".

Amy pouted, rather put out that the brunette wasn't telling. Then she got an idea. If Melanie won't spill the 'beans' then the Doctor would, with a little persuasion of course. "Well if you won't tell...I suppose I'll just have to get it from the Doctor", she said slyly.

Melanie glanced at her "You really think the Doctor would share something like that?" she asked, highly doubtful.

"Oh, I'm sure he would", Amy said confidently "It's just a matter of saying the right things".

Melanie scoffed "good luck Ames. It won't matter what you say, he won't spill".

Amy smirked "Challenge accepted Miss Hannigan", and with that she turned and walked away. Melanie watched her go before she contacted the Doctor.

 _'Doctor, Amy is on her way to ask you how good a kisser you are_ '

A moment later she heard the Doctor's mental voice ask _'oh really? Why?'_

 _'Because I refused to tell her. I just said that it was something I wanted to keep to myself'_ Melanie answered. There was a pause before the Doctor spoke.

_'So how good a kisser am I?'_

_'Very good'_ Melanie replied.

 _'Only very good?'_ the Doctor asked ' _I might have to find you and change for mind on that'._

Melanie smiled _'go for it. I'm in the wardrobe'_ , she told him.

_'On my way'_

Knowing that the Doctor was on his way, Melanie quickly renewed her search for a top to match the skirt. She pulled out several of them, looked at them all for about a second before she put them back. Melanie did this three times, getting more worried that she wouldn't find anything before the Doctor turned up. And then she found the perfect top. It a white off the shoulder top embroidered with purple flowers. Melanie easily found a pair of sandals to go with it and darted off to the changing area with her clothes.

She'd literally just stepped out, securing her mother's locket around her neck when the Doctor showed up. "What do you think?" she asked giving a little twirl "good enough for Rio?"

"It's perfect for Rio", the Time Lord replied "now, I believe I've got to change your mind on something".

"Do you?" Melanie asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yes, I do", the Doctor said stepping forward. Melanie shot him a grin before she ran off. The Time Lord chased after her. The brunette giggled as she darted around the rails of clothing hoping to lose the Doctor in the vastness of the wardrobe. She paused by a rack of coats to catch her breath. She peered around the corner waiting for the Doctor to pass by. Suddenly a pair of arms grabbed her from behind causing to her let out a shriek. Melanie tried to run off but the arms held firm around her waist. "Gotcha", the Doctor said in her ear.

"What are you going to do now?" Melanie asked feeling her heart hammer in her chest from the scare.

"This", the Doctor said and in one swift move, he spun her around and pressed his lips against hers. Without breaking the kiss, he picked her up and carried her over to a nearby chair. The Doctor settled down onto it with his Bonded on his lap. It didn't take very long for the kiss become heated when tongues were introduced. Melanie closed her eyes, losing herself in the kiss and the warmth that came with it. She raised her hands and ran them through the Doctor's hair. The Time Lord close his eyes, very much enjoying the sensation.

Eventually, they parted. Both breathing heavily, both faces flushed. "How was that?" the Doctor asked.

"Fantastic", Melanie replied.

"So I've definitely changed your mind then?" he questioned.

"Yes you have" Melanie pecked him on the lips "my Doctor".

The Doctor smiled and rested his forehead against hers "My Elle", he said "my Bonded".

Several minutes had passed and the pair hadn't moved. Melanie was rather content to stay on the Doctor's arms and the Doctor...well he wasn't complaining either. It was moments like these that he would cherish. But the pleasant silence was broken by Melanie's voice.

"We should probably head to Rio soon"

"Why?" the Doctor asked "Rio isn't going anywhere. Besides I'm rather enjoying this moment. Aren't you?"

"I am", Melanie replied "and as much as I'd love to stay here in your arms, Amy and Rory are gonna get impatient".

"Well they'll just have to learn to have some patience", the Doctor said "for once I want to be selfish and spend some alone time with my beautiful Bonded".

"And if they come looking for us, our alone time will be cut short", Melanie told him "so isn't it better that we find them and get the trip to Rio started?"

"No", the Doctor answered "it would require moving and I don't want to" his arms tightened around her slightly.

"Just think about it. The sooner we get to Rio, the sooner Amy and Rory will go off on a wander. That'll mean plenty of alone time for us to do whatever we want", Melanie said. The Doctor pondered over her words for a moment. She did make an excellent point. The quicker they headed to Rio, the quicker Amy and Rory temporarily vacate the TARDIS...

The Time Lord jumped up and ran out of the wardrobe with Melanie in his arms. The brunette couldn't help but laugh as his eagerness. "I can walk you know", she said as he continued to run.  
  
"I know, I just wanted to keep you in my arms a bit longer", the Doctor glanced down at her, slowing a fraction "is that a problem?"   
  
"Nope", Melanie said resting her head on his chest.   
  
"Good", the Doctor said with a smile and continued on his way to the console room.   
  
~console room~

"There you are", Amy said seeing the Doctor enter the room with Melanie is his arms? She just waved it off. He must have a reason for it but she wasn't going to ask. She was more interested to find out what Melanie blatantly refused to tell her. "I've been wondering about something..." Amy started.

"No, Amy", Melanie said as the Doctor set her down.

"But..."

"I said 'no'", Melanie repeated "I'm not going tell you and neither will the Doctor", she glanced at the Time Lord "Right?"

"Yes, absolutely. No telling", Doctor agreed quickly. Amy pouted, rather put out. She was just going to have to try again when Melanie wasn't around. "Now! On to Rio!" he declared and went for the controls, missing the look Amy was giving his Bonded.

\------

When the TARDIS touched down, the Doctor started for the doors. He grabbed hold of the handles and cast Melanie a grin which she returned "Behold..." he pulled the doors open with a flourish "Rio!"

The sight that greeted them wasn't not Rio, in fact it was...a graveyard. Amy, Rory and Melanie move around the Doctor and out of the TARDIS. Amy looked around the graveyard shaking her head.

"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe", Rory remarked.

"Well maybe this is a different part of Rio that tourists don't really go to", Melanie offered. Rory shot her a look and she sighed "No, this isn't Rio", she reluctantly agreed. A breeze blew across the landscape, ruffling their hair and clothes. Amy and Melanie shivered as both of them were dressed for a warmer climate. The Doctor instantly stepped out of the TARDIS ready to give Melanie his jacket when he frowned, there was something off about the ground. Melanie raised an eyebrow when the Time Lord suddenly bounced on the spot. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"The ground feels strange", he replied "can't you feel it?" Melanie, Amy and Rory shook their heads "Just me then". He then noticed something strange out of the corner of his eye and darted off. The three humans hurried after him.

"Doctor, what is it?" Melanie questioned seeing him stop and crouch down by one of the graves. He plucked a few blades of grass.

"Blue grass", he stated standing up "patches of it all around the graveyard". Now that he said it, Melanie could see the patches of grass.

"That's weird", she remarked.

"Yep", the Doctor said.

"Who cares about blue grass?" Amy asked "we quite clearly in the wrong place and...." She trailed off and frowned across the valley. There were two people waving at them "Why are those people waving at us?"

The Doctor followed her gaze "Can't be", he said and much to Melanie's surprise he pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pocket "It is!" he lowered the binoculars "It's you, Amy. Rory as well".

"No, we're here. How can we be up there?" Rory asked confused.

"This is the year 2020", the Doctor said "Ten years in your future. Come to relive past glories, I'd imagine. Humans, you're so nostalgic".

"We're still together in ten years?" Amy said surprised.

"No need to sound so surprised!" Rory remarked.

Melanie looked at the future versions of her best friends. It made her wonder where she and the Doctor were. "I wonder where we are in ten years’ time?" she said to the Doctor.

"Probably off exploring the universe...", the Time Lord said putting at arm around her, hugging her to his side "saving planets and lots of running".

"Hey, let's go and talk to them!" Amy piped up "We can say hi to future us. How cool is that?" she grabbed Rory by the arm and started to head off when the Doctor's voice stopped her.

"No, best not. Really best not. These things get complicated very quickly..." the Time Lord spotted some sort of mining thing nearby "oh look! Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing. See, way better than Rio! Rio doesn't have a big mining thing".

"We're not going to have a look, are we?" Amy groaned.

"Let's go and have a look", the Doctor said oblivious to the looks that Amy, Melanie and Rory were giving each other "Come on, let's see what they're doing". He moved his arm from around Melanie, taking her hand instead. He then pulled the brunette down the path.

"Are we seriously going to look at a 'big mining thing'?" Melanie asked as they walked "I thought we'd be off, trying to get to Rio".

"We'll go to Rio after we look at the big mining thing", the Doctor said "I promise".

"You promise", Melanie repeated.

The Doctor stopped and looked at her "Elle, I promise we _will_ go to Rio" with his free hand he crossed his hearts "cross my hearts".

"Ok", Melanie said believing him a little bit more.

~Mine gates~

The pair stop at a set of locked gates. "Restricted access. No unauthorised personnel", the Doctor read aloud. He got out his sonic and used it on the lock.

"You know, I think that that is what people call breaking and entering", Melanie commented.

"What did I break?" the Doctor asked removing the padlock "Sonicing and entering, totally different" he opened the gate "come on".

Melanie glanced behind them, frowning. Amy and Rory were nowhere to be seen. "shouldn't we wait for Amy and Rory?" she asked.

"Nah, they'll catch us up", the Doctor replied holding out his hand. Melanie took his hand and they walked through the gate.

~Tunnel~

"What about now? Can you feel it now?" the Doctor asked Melanie as they walked.

The brunette shook her head "No, sorry. I don't", she replied.

"The ground doesn't feel like it should", the Doctor told her.

"Well, you did say this is ten years in the future. Maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels", Melanie suggested.

"Good thought Elle, but no, it doesn't" a whirring sound begins "Hear that, drill in start-up mode. Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass" the Doctor took one of the blue blades of grass he'd collected and put it in his mouth. He made a face and promptly took it out of his mouth.

"You better wash your mouth out first before you kiss me again", Melanie said a bit disgusted by what he'd just done.

"Don't worry Elle I will", the Doctor promised "now what's in..." they walked into a room where an Indian woman, Nasreen, was standing near machinery "...here? Hello!"

"Who are you?" Nasreen demanded "What're you doing here?" she frowned at Melanie's outfit "And what're you wearing?"

"I dressed for Rio", Melanie told her.

The Doctor took out his psychic paper and showed it to Nasreen "Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science! New Ministry, quite big, just merged. It's lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Don't like to talk about it" the Time Lord tucked the paper back into his pocket "What are you doing?"

"None of your business", Nasreen answered.

"Where are you getting these readings from?" the Doctor asked moving over to the monitor, Melanie following him.

"Under the soil", Nasreen answered removing equipment from a hole in the floor.

An older man, Tony, enters the room "The drill's up and running again", he told Nasreen "What's going on? Who are these people?" he asked looking at the Doctor and Melanie.

"Melanie, the Doctor", the brunette woman said introducing herself and the Time Lord.

The Doctor walked over to the hole and picked up a pinch of soil, letting it fall through his fingers "Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" he asked.

"We don't know. It just appeared overnight", Nasreen replied.

"Good. Right" the Doctor stood up "You all need to get out of here very fast".

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Melanie asked. Before he could answer the ground suddenly started to shake. The Time Lord ran back to monitor.

"The ground is moving", he stated.

"Uh...I think we can all feel that Doctor", Melanie said.

"Is this an earthquake?" Tony asked.

"Doubt it. Cos its only happening under this room", the Doctor replied. Two more holes appear in the floor then three more. "It knows we're here. The ground's attacking us", the Doctor said his hearts starting to hammer at the growing danger to his Bonded.

"No, no that's not possible", Nasreen insisted.

"Under the circumstances, I'd suggest, run!" the Doctor grabbed Melanie's hand and ran for the door, Nasreen not far behind them. Tony tried to follow but became trapped by a hole opening up beneath one of his foot.

"Tony!" Nasreen exclaimed. Melanie tugged her hand out of the Doctor's and dashed toward Tony.

"It's ok, I got you", Melanie assured grabbing hold of his arm. Suddenly the ground beneath her feet.

"Elle!" the Doctor shouted rushing over to help her.

"Something's got me!" she cried as she was pulled down through the ground up to her waist.

"I've got you", the Doctor said grabbing hold of her hands tightly.

"Don't let go", Melanie said her voice trembling with fear.

"Never", the Doctor said, his hearts hammering even more in his chest. Nasreen ran over and easily pulled Tony out of the ground.

"Your drill, shut it down! Go! Now!" the Doctor ordered Nasreen and Tony. They all but sprinted from the room.

Melanie let out small scream as she was pulled further into the ground. The Doctor shifted both hands to the one arm that was still free. "Please don't let me go", she begged, tears starting to form.

"I'm not going to let you go", the Doctor said feeling her fear which of course sent his panic skyrocketing "always and forever, remember?"

Melanie nodded, managing a smile through her tears "Yes, I remember", she said. Her smile fell as she was yanked down once more, all that remained where her head, shoulders and one arm which the Doctor was clinging onto with all his strength. "Doctor, I'm scared", she whispered "I don't want to die".

"You're not going to die Elle, not on my watch", the Doctor said firmly. He tightened his grip even more, his arms straining to hold on to her hand as she sank deeper. Now only her head and part of her that the Doctor was holding onto was poking out of the dirt. With a scream, Melanie was pulled completely underneath the soil.

"Elle no!" the Doctor cried "No! No!" he frantically dug through the dirt but to no avail "No! No! No!" he slammed his hands on the ground and stands up, pulling out his sonic screwdriver "No you're not gone. You cannot be gone", he muttered using the device on the ground.

Nasreen and Tony rush back in the room "Where is she?" the Indian woman asked.

"She's gone", the Doctor whispered, the sonic falling out of his hand as the shock set in "my Bonded is gone. The ground took her". 

\----------------

Melanie screamed as she was pulled through the ground. She landed on some compacted dirt, coughing when some of it got in her mouth. She got to her feet, brushed herself down and looked up. The hole she’d been pulled through was no longer there. Melanie then took in her surroundings. Thanks to some dim lighting, she noticed that she was in some kind of tunnel. Melanie stood there and pondered what to do. She could follow the tunnel and hope that she came across an exit that would get her up to the surface. Or she could wait there to see if the Doctor would come and get her. She didn’t particularly want to aimlessly wander around because she had no idea who or what was lurking around. The tunnel she was in didn’t build itself. If only she could call the Doctor somehow…Melanie’s brown eyes widened when she remembered that she and the Time Lord had a telepathic connection.

 _‘Doctor!’_ she mentally called as loudly as she could.

~Store room~

To say that the Doctor was relieved to hear Melanie was an understatement. _‘Elle are you ok?’_ he asked standing up.

 _‘Yeah, I’m fine’,_ Melanie answered _‘I’m in some kind of tunnel’_.

 _‘Anybody with you?’_ the Doctor questioned.

 _‘No. I’m alone’_ , Melanie replied _‘what do you want me to do?’_

 _‘Stay put. I’ll figure out a way to get to you’_ , the Doctor instructed walking over to the computers, flashing his sonic over them. 

“Oh no…what…what are you doing?” Nasreen demanded.

“Hacking into your records”, the Doctor answered “Probe reports, samples, sensors. Good. Just unite the data, make it all one big conversation. Let's have a look. So, we are here and this is your drill hole. Twenty one point zero nine kilometres. Well done!”

“Thank you. It's taken us a long time”, Nasreen said, pleased with her accomplishment.

 _‘Please hurry_ _Doctor’,_ Melanie pleaded.

 _‘I will’,_ the Doctor promised _‘Love you’_.

 _‘Love you too’_ , Melanie said. 

“Why here, though? Why'd you drill on this site?” the Doctor questioned.

“We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for twenty million years”, Nasreen explained.

The Doctor looked at her, brows raised “The blue grass? Oh, Nasreen. Those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying dig here. They were a warning. Stay away. Because while you've been drilling down, somebody else has been drilling up” he pulled up a screen on one of the computers showing a network of vertical tunnels “Oh, beautiful. Network of tunnels all the way down”.

Tony shook his head “No, no, we've surveyed that area”, he said.

“You only saw what you went looking for”, the Doctor told him.

 _‘Uh…Doctor?’_ Melanie called _‘I can hear someone coming towards me’._

~Tunnel~

The brunette stood there, facing towards the sound. “Hello?” she called seeing a shadow cast on the dirt wall by the dim lights “my name’s Melanie. I’m not intruding or anything. I was uh…pulled through the ground. Can you help me?” She watched the shadow stop “look I don’t want any trouble, I just want to get back to my boyfriend. If you could just point me towards the exit, I’ll be on my way”. Melanie didn’t get answer. Suddenly a small canister appeared, bouncing along the ground, rolling to a stop a couple of metres away. The canister exploded, releasing a white gas.

Melanie ran as fast as she could to get away from it but she wasn’t fast enough. The gas overtook and enveloped her. Melanie coughed as she inhaled it. _‘Doctor help me!’_ she called desperately _‘I’m being…’_ she trailed off as she passed out.

~Store room~

 _’You’re being what?’_ the Doctor asked _‘Elle answer me!’_

His hearts began to hammer when he didn’t get a response from his Bonded. Something bad had just happened to her. He needed to find her, now! “I’ve got to go”, the Doctor said and marched out of the room.

“Go?” Nasreen asked following after him with Tony “go where?”

“Underground. Someone or something has made the mistake of taking my Bonded. I’m getting her back”, the Doctor said firmly.

“How are you going to do that?” Nasreen questioned.

“And what exactly is a Bonded?” Tony queried. The Doctor just ignored their questions and continued walking. One single thought in his mind: save Melanie.

Then a curious sound reached his ears, making him stop. It was drilling. The Doctor dropped to the ground and listened intently. He then jumped up and rushed back into the store room. “That wasn’t drilling, that was transport”, he muttered staring at the screen. Three blips were moving upwards at a fast pace “it's transport”, he said louder to Tony and Nasreen who’d followed him back into the room, rather confused “Three of them, thirty kilometres down. Rate of speed looks about a hundred and fifty kilometres an hour. Should be here in ooo, quite soon”, he glanced at his watch “Twelve minutes. Whatever made the Earth take my Bonded is on its way up, now”. He turned to Tony and Nasreen “take this equipment, we’re going to need it”, he ordered. The Doctor snatched up one of the computers and rushed out of the room. Nasreen and Tony picked up the other computer and the rest of the equipment before following after him.

~Cwmtaff~

“How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?” Tony asked the Doctor as they walked, laden down with equipment.

“You saw the readings!” the Doctor said.

“Who are you, anyway?!” Nasreen demanded “How can you know all this?”

Before the Doctor could answer her, there was a loud whirring sound and the trio saw red lights streak across the sky. “Whoa, did you see that?” Nasreen gaped.

“No, no, no!” the Doctor exclaimed. This cannot be happening! He took out a catapult from his pocket, picked up a rock from the ground and fired it into the air. It hit a force field, red lights streak out from impact. The Doctor then used his sonic, revealing the force field surrounding the village and drill site. “Energy signal originating from under the Earth”, The Doctor said “We're trapped”.

This wasn’t NOT happening! He cannot be trapped! Melanie needs him!

Then Rory and Amy along with an unfamiliar woman and young boy. “Doctor, something weird's going on here, the graves are eating people”, he said.

“Not now, Rory”, the Doctor waved him off “Energy barricade, invisible to the naked eye. We can't get out and no one from the outside world can get in”.

“What?! Okay, what about the TARDIS?” Rory questioned.

“The what?” Nasreen questioned, confused.

“No. Those energy patterns would play havoc with the circuits”, the Doctor told him “With a bit of time, maybe, but we've only got nine and a half minutes”.

“Nine and a half minutes to what?” Rory asked as Amy looked around, noticing that someone was missing from the group.

“We're trapped, and something's burrowing towards the surface”, Nasreen explained quickly.

“Where's Elle?” Amy asked.

“Get everyone inside the church”, the Doctor said “Amy, I'll get her back”.

“What do you mean, get her back? Where's she gone?” the ginger demanded.

“She was taken. Into the Earth”, the Doctor replied.

“Why didn't you stop it?” Amy demanded.

“I tried. I promise, I tried”, the Doctor said, his voice strained from the guilt of not being able to stop Melanie from being pulled into the ground.

“Well, you should've tried harder!” Amy shouted at him.

“I know I should’ve”, the Doctor said quietly. Amy’s face softened at the pain clearly showing on the Time Lord’s face. She moved over to him and gave him a hug. “I’ll find her Amy, I promise”, he added.

“I know”, Amy said. She had complete faith that the Doctor will find her. She knew he wasn’t going to stop until he did.

\-------------

The group all walked over to the church with the equipment from the drill site. “Where's Mo? Is he with you?” the unfamiliar woman, whom the time travelling trio learned was Ambrose, asked.

“This flaming door. Always sticking. I thought you were having it fixed”, Tony said trying to get the door open, avoiding his daughter’s questioned.

“Dad!” Ambrose exclaimed.

“Something's happened to him, hasn't it?” Elliot, Ambrose’s son asked fearfully. Tony again didn’t answer, instead he focused on getting the church door open. As soon as it was, they all entered.

The inside of the church, was in a state of disrepair. Crates and random pieces of junk littered the place. “So we can't get out, we can't contact anyone, and something, the something that took my husband, is coming up through the Earth”, Ambrose stated while the Doctor, Tony and Nasreen set up the equipment.

“Yes. If we move quickly enough, we can be ready”, the Doctor said.

“No, stop. This has gone far enough. What is this?” Ambrose demanded.

“He's telling the truth, love”, Tony told her.

“Come on!” Ambrose exclaimed “It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals. Reception's always rubbish”.

“Look, Ambrose. We saw the Doctor's friend get taken, okay?” Nasreen spoke up “You saw the lightning in the sky. I have seen the impossible today, and the only person who's made any sense of it for me, is the Doctor”.

“Him?!” Ambrose said looking at the Time Lord sceptically.

“Me”, the Doctor confirmed.

“Can you get my dad back?” Elliot asked. Everyone looked at the Time Lord wondering what he was going to say.

“Yes”, the Doctor answered “But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards, because we're running out of time”.

“So tell us what to do”, Ambrose countered.

“Thank you. We have eight minutes to set up a line of defence. Bring me every phone, every camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find. Every burglar alarm, every movement sensor, every security light. I want the whole area covered with sensors”, the Doctor told them all.

\----------

When Melanie eventually woke, she found herself inside what appeared to be some sort of clear coffin. “No”, she breathed “no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not again”. Her breathing quickened and her heart rate increased as her claustrophobia set in. She had a fear of confined spaces ever since her uncle had shut her in the small cupboard under the stairs. It was one of his favourite punishments. Sometimes he’d leave her in there for days.

She reached up and hammered on the lid “Let me out!” she shouted “Let me out!” a distorted figure appeared “please let me out”, Melanie pleaded, her entire body starting to tremble “I don’t like confined spaces!”

The figure didn’t say anything and then a gas started to seep into the coffin from one of the sides. “Please” Melanie coughed “don’t do…” her words trailed off as she slowly succumbed to the gas once more. But before she passed out, the brunette mentally called out to Doctor.

~Crypt~

The Doctor marched down the steps of the crypt where they were holding one of the aliens prisoner. Long story short. Their plan to use tech had failed resulting in Elliot getting taken and Tony getting hurt. But he and Rory managed to capture on of the aliens that had come up from underground and now it was time to get some answers.

“I’m the Doctor”, he said to the prisoner “I’ve come to talk”. Without waiting for permission, he removed the alien’s mask to reveal a Silurian face beneath it. Normally he would’ve commented on her appearance but he wasn’t in the mood for niceties. His Bonded was stuck under the earth and just now he’d felt how terrified she truly was. He needed to get her back and he didn’t care what he had to do to accomplish it. “Your people have my Bonded and I want her back”, the Doctor demanded. The Silurian didn’t say anything, she just looked at him.

The Time Lord crouched down and looked her in the eyes “listen to me. That woman is everything…literally everything to me. I want her and the other people that were taken back, right now”, he said.

“No”, the Silurian replied firmly. The Doctor stood up. He wasn’t surprised by her answer. It looked like he was going to have to find the rest of her tribe and negotiate with them instead. He turned and left the crypt.

~Church~

“You're going to what?” Rory asked wondering if he’d misheard the Time Lord.

“I'm going to go down below the surface, to find the rest of the tribe, to talk to them”, the Doctor repeated.

“You're going to negotiate with these aliens?” Ambrose asked, sceptically.

“Yes I am”, the Doctor replied “it’s the only way to get back Elle and the others without instigating war. Now, the creature in the crypt, she's my best bargaining chip. I need her alive. If she lives, so do Elliot, Mo and my Bonded, because I WILL find them. While I'm gone, all of you, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity”.

“And what if they come back? Shouldn't we be examining this creature? Dissecting it, finding its weak points?” Tony questioned.

“No dissecting!” the Doctor snapped “no examining! We return their hostage, they return ours, nobody gets harmed. We can land this together, if you are the best you can be. You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?”

Everyone nods, quietly while Nasreen applauds his speech. Though she did stop when no one else joined in.

~Graveyard~

The Doctor walks quickly toward the TARDIS with Amy. The ginger had been pretty insistent in going with him, stating that Melanie was her best friend. As the Doctor unlocked the door, Nasreen ran up. “No, sorry, no. What are you doing?” he asked her.

“Coming with you, of course!” Nasreen answered as if it was obvious “What is it, some kind of transport pod?” she questioned eagerly, looking at the TARDIS.

“Sort of, but you're not…coming with us”, the Doctor said.

“He's right. You're not”, Tony agreed, joining them.

“I have spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet, and now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so!” Nasreen argued.

The Doctor checked his watch “I don't have time to argue!” he told her. The longer he stood there arguing, the longer Melanie was in the hands of the Silurians. And she’d been in their clutches long enough.

“I thought we were in a rush”, Nasreen stated.

“It'll be dangerous”, Amy pointed out.

“So's crossing the road”, Nasreen countered.

“Oh, for goodness sake, all right, then! Come on!” the Doctor said crossly, unlocking the TARDIS and entering the blue box. Amy and Nasreen followed after him, the latter doing a double take at the vast interior. “Welcome aboard the TARDIS”, the Doctor said going over to the console “Now, don't touch anything. Very precious”.

Nasreen walked over from the doorway “No way! But, but that's…this is…” she slapped the Doctor on the arm “fantastic! What does it do?”

“Everything”, the Doctor answered “I'm hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere”. Suddenly the ship pitched drastically causing the trio to quickly grab hold of the console. “Did you touch something?!” the Doctor asked Nasreen. He knew Amy wouldn’t have done. She knew not to which only left the Indian woman.

“No! Isn't this what it does?” Nasreen asked loudly over the noise.

“Not normally”, Amy answered her “what IS happening Doctor?”

“We've been hijacked. They must've sensed the electro-magnetic field. They're pulling the Tardis down into the Earth”, the Doctor explained. The TARDIS came to a juddering halt, throwing all three of them to the floor. The Doctor shot to his feet and darted out of the ship’s door.


	9. Cold Blood

~Laboratory~

Melanie’s face scrunched up as she stirred. Her eyes shot open and she tried to move only to find herself strapped down to a near vertical examination table. “Don't struggle”, a male voice spoke up quietly as she thrashed against her bonds “Close your eyes and don't struggle”. Melanie glanced over and saw a man strapped down, just like she was. “Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me while I was conscious”, he continued.

“Did what? Who did?” Melanie questioned.

“Dissected me”, the man said looking down at his chest. Melanie followed his gaze, her eyes widening at the large scar running down his chest.

“No”, she breathed, her heart starting to beat faster as the memory of her uncle coming at her with a knife came rushing to the surface. _‘Doctor help me!’_ she screamed in her head as loudly as she could.

In the tunnel, the Time Lord heard her mental plea and took off. Amy and Nasreen chased after him.

~Laboratory~

“He's coming. I'm sorry. I wish I could help you”, the man said. Melanie heard someone approach and turned her gaze away from the other prisoner to see a reptilian humanoid wearing an apron and a face mask. In his hand was a some sort of sharp implement, possibly a scalpel.

_‘Doctor please!’_

~tunnel~

The Doctor pushed himself to go faster. It felt like his body was being pulled toward wherever Melanie was being held. And he didn’t fight it. He let it lead him to his Bonded.

~Laboratory~

Melanie struggled against the bonds as the alien slowly approached. “No, please don’t do this”, she pleaded. The alien appeared to ignore her and reached out with the scalpel. The brunette screamed as it started cutting into her skin.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

Malokeh backed away from Melanie, turning to the Doctor who was literally shaking with anger. “Amy, Nasreen keep an eye on him”, the Time Lord snapped, not even waiting for a response before going over to his Bonded.

“You came”, Melanie whispered, tears rolling down her face.

“I promised you I would”, the Doctor said gently wiping away the tears. His eyes flicked down to the cut “this might sting a little”, he warned before he carefully placed a hand over the cut and used his regeneration energy to heal it. The Doctor removed his hand and used his cuff to wipe away the remnants of the blood. Then he used his sonic to release the bindings on her wrists. Melanie fell forward into the Doctor’s arms. “Shhhh, its ok. I got you”, the Time Lord said softly as she began to cry.

"I want to go home", Melanie sobbed.

The Doctor nodded and gathered her up in his arms trying to ignore the pang in his hearts. She wanted to go home and it was all his fault. He failed to pull her out of the dirt and she'd suffered for it. Whatever happened next, whatever she said to him once they were back in his ship, he deserved it all and then some. "Amy, Nasreen", he said as he walked past them. The pair made to follow when Amy noticed Mo.

"Doctor, wait!" she called going over to the man.

"Mo!" Nasreen exclaimed hurrying to his side.

"Doctor we need your sonic", Amy said. The Time Lord shifted Melanie in his arms and get out the slender device from his jacket pocket, holding it out to Amy. The ginger took it and flashed it over Mo's restraints, freeing him. She gave it back to the Doctor before she and Nasreen helped Mo up. They supported him between themselves as they left the lab, the Doctor making sure to give Malokeh one last glare.

The Time Lord strode along the dirt tunnel with one clear thought in his mind: getting his Bonded to the TARDIS, to safety. Thankfully nobody tried to stop him from getting back to the ship, though the Oncoming Storm in him was rather itching to see if someone would just so he could show them the fury of a Time Lord.

~TARDIS~

Just like with the Daleks, the console room’s lights dimmed and she left out a worried noise for her thief’s Bonded. “I know”, the Doctor muttered as he crossed the console room floor “Amy, Nasreen take Mo to the med bay. I’ll be there in a moment”.

“But where is it?” Amy asked.

“Ask the TARDIS”, the Doctor replied in a much harsher tone than he meant to. Amy didn’t blame him though, she knew he was more concerned with Melanie than being polite. Not even waiting to see if they had any more questions, the Time Lord disappeared into the corridor to the brunette’s bedroom. When he reached the door, it swung up by itself. “Thanks dear”, he said entering. The TARDIS closed the door behind him.

The Doctor sat down on the bed. “Elle I’m so sorry”, he said quietly to the still terrified brunette “I failed to keep you safe and as soon as I’ve got Elliot back, I’ll take you home”.

Melanie peered up at him through her tears “you have taken me home”, she said making him look down at her in surprise “the TARDIS is my home now, Doctor. It has been since Starship UK” she reached up and touched his face “and I don’t blame you for anything. You did all you could”.

The Doctor didn’t say anything. He rested his forehead against hers. What did he do to deserve her? Seriously after everything he’d done, he didn’t deserve the honour of having a Bonded. And yet the universe saw fit to give him one. After this failure, he was never letting her down again. He was never going to let her get hurt ever again. He would do anything to ensure her safety even at the cost of his life. He’d sooner die than see her get harmed again. 

\-----------------

Amy sat in the comfy chair in Melanie’s room, eyes trained on the slumbering brunette. When the Doctor had finally came to the med bay, he fixed up Mo quickly and had asked her if she could stay with Melanie while he, Mo and Nasreen went to go get Elliot. Amy of course agreed. What kind of friend would she be if she left Melanie while she was a vulnerable state?

That had been at least an hour ago. In that time Melanie had been resting, waking up a few times with a scream. And Amy had been there every time to soothe her back to sleep. So far fifteen minutes had passed since the last time Melanie had woken up and she’d showed no signs of distress nor any signs that she was going to wake up.

The ginger sighed, running a hand through her hair. She really hoped that this wasn’t going to be a set-back. Melanie had come a long way from that broken, fragile young woman she first met. And she would like to think that it had been down to herself and Rory that Melanie had made such swift progress. Amy also knew that meeting the Doctor had helped as well. Sure it was far from a smooth ride so far but she was almost positive that the Time Lord had aided in Melanie’s healing. Her best friend had a positive influence on the Doctor too.

Suddenly the room shook, making Amy look up at the ceiling in alarm. Where they moving? “I’ll be back”, she promised Melanie as she got up, quickly leaving the room. “Doctor what’s going on?” Amy asked seeing the Time Lord frantically piloting the TARDIS “wait, where’s Rory?” she questioned, seeing Ambrose, Mo and Elliot but not her fiancé nor Tony or Nasreen. The Doctor didn’t answer her, he just kept working at the console.

Amy marched up to him “Where is Rory?” she repeated. The Doctor’s hand movements stilled as he looked up at her, eyes full of regret. “No”, the ginger breathed, her heart filling with dread at what he was conveying with the look “Doctor…” 

“I’m sorry”, the Doctor said quietly. Amy stepped away from him, shaking her head. Rory couldn’t be gone. It was impossible. They were on the hillside. She saw them! How could she and Rory be on the hill if he was dead? He had to be alive. He _had_ to! She darted toward the door, the Doctor breaking away from the console to grab her, stopping her from leaving.

“Let go of me!” Amy exclaimed, wiggling in his grip “Rory isn’t gone!”

“Amy, I’m sorry but he is”, the Doctor insisted “and you need to keep him in your mind. _Don’t_ forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever”.

That made Amy stop trying to escape “y-you mean he’s being taken by the same light that took those Clerics on the Byzantium”, she said.   
  


The Doctor let her go “yes”, he replied. She spun around to face him.

“But I still remembered them”, Amy said “and you told me it’s because I am a time traveller now”.

“They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing”, the Doctor gently cupped her face “It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy. Tell me about Rory, eh?” he urged “Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this”.

“I can't”, Amy said, tears filling her eyes.

“Yes, you can”, the Doctor insisted “I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please. Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind”.

Suddenly the TARDIS came to a jarring halt, throwing them all to the floor. The box containing Amy’s engagement ring tumbles off the console, landing in front of the Doctor. “What were you saying?” the ginger said brightly, all trace of her grief for Rory gone. The Time Lord could only stare at her in dismay. She’d forgotten Rory. And he couldn’t help but wonder if Melanie had forgotten him too or would it be like the Daleks and she’d remember the nurse?

Over in Melanie's room, the brunette woke. She sat upright when she didn't see Amy. Melanie hopped out of bed and started toward the door when she stopped and turned to her wall of photographs, her eyes being drawn to several of them featuring herself and Amy. She stepped toward them with a frown on her face. There was a blurred figure in each of them.

Melanie pulled one of the photos from the wall and stared at the blurred figure. She couldn't tell who that was or what gender they were. The only thing that came to mind was that their name started with the letter R.

Rebecca? Rachael? Robin? Ryan? The brunette mentally listed off a few names beginning with R but none of them felt like they fit. She shook her head. It'll come back to her later. Probably when she least expected it to. For now she had to go find the Doctor and Amy, find out what happened and whether they found Elliot.

Melanie turned and left the room, the TARDIS letting out an unhappy hum as she did so. The ship wished she could help her thief's Bonded to remember her friend Rory but it was out of her control. All she could do was hope that the brunette did remember and soon because if she didn't the dirty blonde would be gone forever.

\--------------

The Doctor stood in the doorway of Amy’s room watching the two females discuss the colours of nail polish, trying to ignore the pain in his hearts at the fact that neither of them remembered Rory. He had hoped that Melanie would’ve done as she remembered the Daleks whereas Amy hadn’t. But no such luck. “You wanna join us or are you going to stand there all day?” his Bonded asked bringing him out of his thoughts “this colour would really suit you”, she added holding up a pink nail polish bottle “right, Amy?”

The ginger nodded “definitely. It’ll really bring out the colour of your eyes”, she teased.

The Doctor shook his head, politely declining “tempting offer but no thanks”, he said “I’ll leave you to it. Have fun”.

“We will”, the girls chorused and with that he left them to it. He walked down the corridor, going from one to another with every intention to go to the console room but his route took him past Melanie’s room and as he passed, the wall of photos caught his eye. The Time Lord entered the room, going straight for the photographs. _If she had all these then why did she still forget him?_ the Doctor thought looking at the ones that had Rory featured in them. Was it because, from her point of view, the dirty blonde had disappeared from them? Or could she still see him but not recognise him?

There was only one way to find out. Show her a photo and get her reaction. The Doctor carefully plucked one of them from the wall and headed back to Amy’s room. He lightly knocked on the doorway, gaining the attention of the ginger and the brunette. “Changed your mind?” Melanie asked.

“No, I haven’t”, the Doctor replied “I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment, Elle”.

“Sure”, Melanie said and hopped off the bed “what did you want to talk about?” she asked as she joined him outside the room. The Doctor took her a little ways down the corridor before he showed her the photo. “Oh…that. I’ve been meaning to tell you about that. I’ve noticed a few of my photos have this blurry person in them”, Melanie said.

“Do you know who the person is?” the Doctor asked, making a mental note of her answer. It was interesting that Rory was still present in the photos albeit ‘blurry’.

Melanie shook her head “I can’t even tell the gender”, she said “but…I think his or her name starts with an ‘R’”.

“Like Rory?” the Doctor offered.

“It’s possible”, Melanie answered “but honestly? I don’t really know”.

“Maybe if you held the photo?” the Time Lord suggested “the picture might become clearer and may possibly trigger something”. 

“I guess it can’t hurt to try”, Melanie agreed. She took the photograph from the Doctor. The brunette looked at it for a good few moments but the figure didn’t become any more clearer. “Sorry, it’s still blurry”, Melanie said holding the photo out to the Doctor. He went to take it, his bonded surprisingly pulled it back and stared at it.

“Elle?” the Doctor questioned wondering if she suddenly remembered something. He watched her raise the photo, touching image of Rory.

“The Centurion”, she murmured.

“That’s who the blurry figure is?” the Doctor asked and Melanie nodded.

“Yeah. This was taken at a Halloween party. I was Cleopatra, Amy was a police woman and our friend here went as a Centurion”, the brunette explained, a fond smile appeared on her face as she added “we called him Roranicus for the entire evening”.

“Must’ve been some night”, the Doctor remarked wanting her to keep talking about it. The more she talked about the more she’d remember…hopefully.

Melanie nodded again “It certainly was”, she agreed “and you know that name Roranicus? It stuck for at least a couple of weeks after Halloween. Roranicus….” She repeated “It’s not far off from Rory, is it?”

“It _is_ pretty close”, the Doctor agreed.

“Maybe my friend’s name really is Rory. But that doesn’t explain why he’s blurry or why I can barely remember him”, Melanie said.

“It doesn’t matter why he’s blurry. Your memory will come back, it time”, the Doctor said gently, feeling her starting to get upset.

“You think so?” Melanie asked, hopeful.

“I know so”, the Doctor said earning a smile from his Bonded. He cupped her face, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. “Enjoy painting you nails”, he added, stepping back.

“I will”, Melanie said. He watched her go back to Amy’s room “the offer to do yours still stands”, she added.

“And I’ll have to politely decline. Again”, the Doctor said.

“Ok. Just swing by at any point and we’ll do it for you”, Melanie said before stepping back inside Amy’s room, pushing the door to.

\-----------------

The Doctor lay next to Melanie, his fingers brushing through her brown locks. His Bonded didn’t stir from his ministrations having been tired out from their recent adventure which involved Vincent Van Gogh and a Krafayis. He felt awful because he’d sworn to himself that he would never let her get hurt and that’s exactly what happened. It wasn’t serious…just a little bruising but it still hurt all the same. “I’ll never let you get hurt again…I swear”, the Doctor whispered pressing a kiss to her forehead. He shifted closer to her and closed his eyes. He wasn’t tired but it did hurt to grab a couple of hours of rest. Plus he was reluctant to leave his Bonded’s side.

Melanie stirred a few hours later to found the Doctor smiling down at her. “Hey”, she mumbled sleepily.

“Hey”, the Doctor said.

“You know…you spend so much time in here…you might as well move in”, the brunette murmured.

“Really?” the Doctor asked.

“Really, really”, Melanie confirmed, her eyes drifting shut.

“I love you”, the Time Lord told her.

“Love you too”, His Bonded said, almost inaudible as she fell asleep.


	10. The Lodgers

The next place the TARDIS materializes is a small park on Aickman Road. The door opens and the Doctor and Melanie. “I don’t know about you but this doesn’t look like that alien moon you were going to take us to, unless it’s got a Rymans”, the brunette remarked.

“That’s because it’s not the fifth moon of Sinda Callista”, the Doctor said, apologetically “sorry”.

“That’s o-“ Melanie was abruptly cut off when there was a sudden explosion from within the TARDIS, throwing herself and the Doctor to the ground.

“Amy!” the pair cried as the blue box dematerialized before their eyes.

“What the hell just happened?” Melanie asked, worried for her best friend.

“I don’t know…this kind of thing doesn’t usually happen”, the Doctor replied. He got to his feet and helped his Bonded up.

“So what do we do now?” Melanie asked.

“I don’t know”, the Doctor answered “but I’ll figure something out, I promise”.

A day later saw the pair standing outside a two story building, number 79A Aickman Road. Melanie pushed the Doctor’s hand away from the bell as he reached for it for the fourth time. “Give him or her a chance to get the door”, she said.

“Fine”, the Doctor mumbled. He then smiled, taking hold of her hand and kissed it. “I love you”, he declared.

“I love you too”, Melanie said back, returning his smile. Over the past day, her Bonded had grown more affectionate toward her which she didn’t mind at all. Suddenly the front door was pulled open and a man in his mid-twenties, Craig Owens, stood there holding a bunch of keys.

“I love you!” he declared.

“Well, that's good, because we’re your new lodgers”, the Doctor said. He took the keys from Craig.

“But I only put the advert up today. I didn't put my address”, Craig said, confused as to how the pair knew where he lived.

“Well, aren't you lucky we came along?” the Doctor remarked “I’m less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur” he put his arm around Melanie’s waist “This lovely lady is an absolute dream”, the female brunette gave Craig a small smile “ _My_ dream, mind you”, the Doctor quickly tacked on, giving the man a pointed look. He wanted their landlord to know straight away that Melanie was his.

“Hang on a minute, mate. I don't know if I want you two staying”, Craig said, rather flustered “And give me back those keys”, he took them back from the Doctor “You can't have those”.

“Yes, quite right. Have some rent”, the Time Lord held out a brown paper bag stuffed with money to Craig “That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell”.

“I told you it was a lot”, Melanie reminded him.

“Yes, you did”, the Doctor agreed “now, let’s go check out the place”. He took her hand and stepped past Craig, going into the building. “Don't spend it all on sweets, unless you like sweets. I like sweets”, the Time Lord continued “especially this sweet” he kissed Melanie on the cheek.

“Doctor, stop”, Melanie said giving him a playful push, cheeks red.

“Never”, he said tapping her on the nose “I’m the Doctor and this is Melanie Hannigan”.

“But you can call me Elle if you like, most people do”, Melanie added.

“Craig Owens”, Craig said, introducing himself “The Doctor?”

“Yep. Who lives upstairs?” the Doctor asked.

“Just some bloke”, Craig replied.

“What's he look like?” the Time Lord questioned.

“Normal”, Craig answered “He's very quiet” there was a loud crash coming from above them “Usually”, he amended “Sorry, who are you again? Hello?!”

The Doctor ignored him and walked further into the flat. “Who are you two?” Craig asked Melanie.

“I told you. I’m Melanie and that’s my boyfriend, the Doctor”, Melanie replied “we’re your new lodgers”.

“Yeah but _who_ are you two?” Craig repeated.

“Just a couple who’s looking for a place to stay for a little bit”, Melanie answered. She then walked into the room where the Doctor was eyeing a large stain on the ceiling.

“I suppose that's dry rot?” the Doctor asked Craig.

“Or damp. Or mildew”, Craig shrugged.

“Or none of the above”, the Doctor muttered, earning him a look from Melanie.

“I'll get someone to fix it”, Craig assured the couple.

“No, I'll fix it”, the Doctor told Craig “I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister”.

“I’m not calling you that”, Melanie said firmly “ever”.

“It’s a rubbish name, isn’t it?” the Doctor asked/stated.

“Yep”, Melanie agreed, popping the p.

The Doctor nodded and turned to Craig “This is the most beautiful parlour I have ever seen”, he remarked, changing the subject “You're obviously a man of impeccable taste. Can we stay, Craig, can't I? Say we can”.

“But…you haven’t seen the room”, Craig pointed out.

“No we haven’t”, Melanie said “let’s see our room”.

Craig led them out of the parlour and down the hall to a bedroom decorated in 80’s style “this is Mark’s old room. He owns the place. Moved out about a month ago. This uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money in the will”, Craig explained as the Doctor sat down on the bed, bouncing on the mattress slightly, testing out how comfy it was.

“This'll do just right. In fact…” the trio looked up when they heard more crashes above “No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah…you'll want to see our credentials” the Doctor took out his psychic paper and showed it to Craig “There National Insurance numbers….NHS number….References…” he listed off, switching the paper behind his back.

“Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?” Craig asked, gobsmacked.

“Elle is his special favourite”, the Doctor replied, winking at Melanie “Now! Are you hungry? I’m hungry. Elle?”

“I’m pretty hungry”, Melanie admitted.

“Ok then”, the Doctor said and headed into the kitchen.

“But I haven’t got anything in”, Craig said.

“You've got everything I need for an omelette fines herbes, pour trois”, the Doctor informed him as he raided the fridge and cabinets.

“Who's the girl on the fridge?” Melanie asked noting the photograph on the large appliance.

“My friend. Sophie”, Craig replied.

“Girlfriend?” the Doctor questioned looking away from the pan.

“A friend who is a girl”, Craig corrected “There's nothing going on”, he insisted.

 _“He’s got it bad”_ , Melanie mentally remarked to the Doctor.

 _“Yep”_ , the Time Lord agreed.

“We met at work about a year ago, at the call centre”, Craig continued “Firm's going down though. The bosses are using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do. I got a plan all worked out. But I'm just a phone drone, I can't go running in saying I know best” the man frowned “Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you two”.

“Well, I've got one of those faces. People never stop blurting out their plans while I'm around”, the Doctor said.

Melanie couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement. He didn’t exactly get those lady fish vamps to tell him the plan. And he even told them to. “Right”, Craig said slowly “Where's your stuff?”

“Oh, don't worry, it'll materialise. If all goes to plan”, the Doctor assured him.

\-----------------

Melanie sits on the Doctor’s lap, feeling rather full from the meal that the Doctor had made. “Oh, that was incredible”, Craig commented “That was absolutely brilliant. Where did you learn to cook?”

“Paris, in the eighteenth century”, the Doctor replied.

“I think you mean twentieth, honey”, Melanie corrected.

“Oh…right”, the Doctor said “Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order”.

“Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?” Craig asked.

“I tell him at least twice a day”, Melanie informed him. She glanced up at the Doctor “Do you think we could go to Paris at some point? I’ve always wanted to go”, she said.

“Of course we can”, the Doctor said, making a mental note to take her to the Louvre first since she loved museums so much.

“Great”, Melanie said, pecking him on the lips. She pulled away only for the Doctor to pull her back in for a longer kiss. Craig looked away from the display of affection and couldn’t help be a little jealous. The Doctor had what he wanted, a relationship with a nice girl.

“Ever been to Paris, Craig?” the Time Lord questioned earning the man’s attention.

Craig shook his head “Nah”, he answered “I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveller”.

“I can tell from your sofa”, the Doctor remarked.

“My sofa?” Craig asked, confused.

“You're starting to look like it”, the Doctor stated earning him a light whack from Melanie.

“I don’t think you’re starting to look like your sofa Craig”, Melanie said.

“Thanks Elle”, Craig said “No, I like it here” he fiddled with Sophie’s keys “I'd miss it, I'd miss…”

“Sophie?” Melanie supplied.

“Yeah, I’d miss her”, Craig admitted. He set aside the keys and got up, heading to the table by the door “Anyway. These, these are your keys” he picked up a set and held them out.

“We can stay?” The Doctor asked happily. Melanie hopped off his lap and he stood up.

“Yeah, you're weird and you can cook”, Craig replied “And Elle…you’re nice so that’s good enough for me. Right. Outdoor, front door, your door”, he listed off showing the pair the three keys.

“Our door. Our place. Our gaff”, the Doctor said, taking the keys with delight “Ha ha! Yes!” 

Melanie smiled at how happy he was at getting a key. “And listen, Mark and I, we had an arrangement where if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout, okay?” Craig said giving the pair a wink.

Melanie understood what he meant by that but the Doctor who was a bit oblivious, asked “Why would we want that?”

“In case you two want some…you know…alone time”, Craig elaborated.

 _“He means if we wanted some privacy to ‘dance’”_ Melanie added when the Doctor still looked a little confused. A bit of red appeared in the Time Lord’s cheeks at that. Admittedly, the prospect of them _dancing_ had been on his mind for a bit after the Byzantium. It wasn’t something they’d discussed yet but it was something that he was looking forward to because well…he knew what the eventual result will be. “Don’t worry, Craig. We’ll give you the heads up”, Melanie assured the man.

“Yes, we will”, the Doctor readily agreed, trying to will the red from his cheeks “and by the way I wouldn’t touch that rot”. He pointed to the patch before leaving the room with Melanie.

~Doctor's room: later~

The Doctor sat down on to the bed, taking care not to jostle Melanie who was now asleep. “Earth to Pond, Earth to Pond”, he said quietly, tapping the earpiece.

 _“Doctor!”_ Amy called, the loudness causing feedback making the Doctor wince. He also glanced at Melanie seeing if she’d been disturbed. Thankfully she hadn’t.

“Could you not wreck my new earpiece, Pond?” the Time Lord scolded “also Elle is sleeping”.

 _“Sorry_ ”, Amy said apologetically.

“How's the TARDIS coping?” the Doctor asked.

_“Hear for yourself”_

The Doctor made a face at the sounds he was hearing from his ship “Ooo, nasty”, he remarked “She's locked in a materialisation loop, trying to land again but she can't”.

“And whatever's stopping her is upstairs in that flat”, Amy finished “So, go upstairs and sort it”.

“I don't know what it is yet”, the Doctor confessed “Anything that can stop the Tardis from landing is big. Scary big”.

_“Wait. Are you scared?”_

“I am”, the Time Lord admitted “Elle has been hurt far too many times for my liking. So I’m going to have to approach this carefully, I’m not putting her in unnecessary danger. Which means I need the man upstairs to believe I’m just a normal human. How hard can that be?”

At those words, he heard the Scottish woman laughed _“Have you seen you?”_ she asked.

“So you're just going to be snide. No helpful hints?”

 _“Hmm”_ , the ginger hummed _“Well, here's one….Bow tie, get rid!”_

 _“Bow ties are cool”,_ the Doctor said “Come on, Amy, I'm a normal bloke. Tell me what normal blokes do”

“ _They watch telly, they play football, they go down the pub”,_ Amy listed off.

“I could do those things. I don't, but I could”, the Doctor said. He’d try anything that would make him appear to be human. There was a sudden crash above them, startling Melanie awake.

“What’s going on?” she asked sleepily. The hands on the clock in the bedroom started spinning back and forth, same was happening with the Doctor’s watch.

“Interesting. Localised time loop”, the Doctor stated to himself. Melanie looked at him in confusion, still not fully awake.

 _“Ow. What's all that?”_ Amy questioned.

“Time distortion”, the Doctor replied “Whatever's happening upstairs is still affecting you”.

 _“It's stopped…ish”,_ Amy reported “ _How about your end?_ ”

“My end's good”, the Doctor answered.

 _“So…doesn't sound great, but nothing to worry about?_ ”

“No, no, no, not really. Just keep the zigzag plotter on full. That'll protect you”, the Doctor told her.

“Protect Amy from what?” Melanie asked her Bonded. 

“Whatever’s happening upstairs is affecting Amy in the TARDIS”, the Doctor briefly explained. A brief second later he heard the ginger scream on the other end of the ear piece. “Amy, I said the zigzag plotter”, the Time Lord reminded her.

 _“I pulled the zigzag plotter!”_ Amy shouted at him.

“What, you're standing with the door behind you?” the Doctor asked.

_“Yes!”_

“Okay, take two steps to your right and pull it again”, the Doctor instructed. A moment he heard the grating sound cease and he knew that she pulled the right lever. The Time Lord pressed the ear piece, switching it off.

“She safe now?” Melanie asked.

“Yep”, the Doctor replied “now, I’ve got a little bit of shopping to do”.

“Want me to come with?” Melanie questioned, sitting up.

“No, you get some sleep”, the Doctor said “I won’t be long”.

“Ok”, Melanie said, laying back down “love you”, she added, her eyes drooping as she started to fall asleep again.

The Doctor smiled down at his now sleeping Bonded. He leant down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead “love you too”, he murmured quietly.

\-------------------

The next morning Melanie was making three mugs of tea in the kitchen when she heard a loud banging from upstairs. She set down the tea spoon and came out into the hallway as Craig was heading for the hall door. “Is everything ok?” Melanie asked.

“I’m just gonna check”, Craig replied. He walked to the hall door, the brunette following him, completely not hearing the Doctor as he called out to them from the bathroom. Craig pulled open the hall door and stepped out. The pair ascended the stairs where Craig knocked on the door to the flat upstairs.

A grey haired man, cracked open the door and peered out at the pair “yes? hello?” he said.

“It's me from downstairs. I heard a big bang”, Craig explained.

“We just wanted to make sure that you were ok”, Melanie added.

“Thank you but I’m quite alright”, the man assured them and then closed the door.

“Charming chappie”, Melanie remarked as they made their way down the stairs. She stopped near the foot when the Doctor suddenly appeared wearing only a towel and brandishing an electric toothbrush. 

“What happened, what's going on?” he demanded, his hearts still pounding in his chest when he thought that his Bonded was in danger.

“We just went to see if the man upstairs was ok”, Melanie replied, trying not to look anywhere else than the Time Lord’s face. Though it was really hard to stop her gaze from trailing down to his bare chest.

“What did he look like?” the Doctor asked.

“More normal than you do at the moment, mate”, Craig answered “What are you doing?”

“I-I thought you two might be in trouble”, the Doctor replied.

“Thanks. Well, if I ever am, you can come and save me with my toothbrush”, Craig said. The phone in his flat suddenly started to ring and he headed inside to answer it.

“Are you ok?” the Doctor asked his Bonded.

“Uh…yeah. Fine”, Melanie responded _damn he’s hot…_ she mentally added, not realising that she accidently projected that thought to the Time Lord.

 _‘Why thank you’_ he said, earning a blush from the brunette. The Doctor stepped closer to her “so…see something you like?” he asked with a smirk.

“Yes, I do”, Melanie admitted, somewhat breathlessly “very much”. She was definitely feeling something that she’d never felt before and it was kinda overwhelming. The Doctor cupped her face and was about to kiss her when a young woman, Sophie, entered through the front door.

“Oh! Hello”, she said, somewhat surprised to see the two of them at the bottom of the stairs, the man in nothing but a towel.

“Ah! Hello. The Doctor”, the Time Lord said going over to Sophie and giving her air kisses “and this is my lovely lady/Bonded, Melanie”, he added gesturing to the brunette.

“Hi”, Melanie greeted, stepping up next to the Doctor “you must be Sophie. Sorry about this one’s state of undress”.

“In my defence I thought you were in danger”, the Doctor reminded her “so I was more concerned with getting to you”.

“Well, as thoughtful as that is, how about we go inside and you get yourself dressed”, Melanie suggested and ushered the Doctor back into the flat, Sophie following them.

“Doctor, we’ve got a match today, pub league. We're one down if you fancy it?” Craig offered from where he stood in the parlour door.

“Pub league”, the Doctor repeated “A drinking competition?”

“He means football”, Melanie quietly corrected.

“Oh, football!” the Doctor said, brightly “Yes, blokes play football. I'm good at football, I think”.

“You've saved my life”, Craig said and disappeared into the parlour.

“It was nice to meet you both”, Sophie said and followed after him.

“Right, now you definitely need to get dressed since you’ve got a game later”, Melanie said to the Doctor. 

“But I thought you liked it?” the Time Lord complained as Melanie pushed him towards the bedroom. His eyes slid to hers as a smile worked onto his face “Unless you had something else in mind…”

Melanie flushed crimson at what the Doctor was insinuating. “You need clothes, now”, she said, shoving him into the bedroom and closing the door. She turned around, only to blush further when she realised Craig and Sophie were watching her. The brunette cleared her throat, trying to will the red away from her face “so, Sophie…do you play football?”

“No, Soph just stands on the side-lines. She's my mascot”, Craig answered before Sophie could.

“I'm your mascot?” the woman repeated and Melanie winced. She knew that was the wrong thing for Craig to say “Mascot?!”

“Well, yeah, not my mascot. It's a football match. I can't take a date”, Craig floundered.

“I…didn't say I was your date”, Sophie stated.

“Neither did I”, Craig said.

“Awkward”, Melanie muttered. She kinda wished that she was in the bedroom with the Doctor so she could’ve avoided that conversation.

 _‘You’re still welcome to join me in here’_ came the Doctor’s voice in her mind, making her blush again.

“Uh…excuse me”, Melanie stammered and disappeared into the bedroom. She found the Doctor standing in the middle of the room in only football shorts, smirking at her. “You know, using this mental link we have like that isn’t very nice”, she remarked.

“I could’ve suggested it out loud but that might have made you more flustered that you already are”, the Doctor said.

“Still…I hate it”, Melanie told him.

“No, you don’t”, the Doctor said “I can feel your emotions, you love it really”.

Melanie threw her hands up “ok, yes. Fine! “I do love it” she admitted “bloody Bond”, grumbled. 

The Time Lord closed the gap between them “you’re adorable when you’re flustered”, he said, making her blush even more.

“I hate you”, Melanie mumbled.

“No you don’t”, the Doctor said, leaning in.

“No I don’t”, the young woman sighed just before they kissed.

\-----------------

“What are you actually called? What's your proper name?” Craig asked as they walked through the park.

“Just call me the Doctor”, the Doctor replied.

“But I can't say to these guys ‘hey, this is my one of new flat mates, he's called the Doctor’”, Craig said.

“Why not, that is his name”, Melanie said.

“It’s just…weird”, Craig remarked “unlike your name, Elle”. Just then his friend, Sean showed up, holding a football.

“All right, Craig. Soph”, he greeted. 

“Hello, I'm one of Craig's new flat mates”, the Doctor said “I'm called the Doctor and this is my beautiful Bonded, Melanie”.

“Hi”, Melanie greeted, with a wave.

“All right, Doctor, Melanie. I'm Sean”, the man introduced “So, where are you strongest Doctor?”

“Arms”, the Time Lord answered earning a snort from Melanie.

“He means which position on the field”, she quietly amended.

“Oh…” the Doctor said “Not sure. The front? The side? Below”.

“Are you any good though?” Sean questioned.

The Time Lord took the football from him and spins it on his fingertips “Let's find out”, he said.

It turned out that the Doctor was a very good football player. Melanie jumped up and down, cheering him on as he scored goal after goal after goal. “You were amazing!” she exclaimed, running over to her Bonded, flinging her arms around him the second the game was over.

“Well, I had my lucky charm”, he said giving her a wink, making her blush.

“I didn’t do anything, you’re the one with the skill”, Melanie mumbled.

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short”, the Doctor said softly “you being here helped me win”. He leant in to kiss her when Sean interrupted.

“You are so on the team!” he declared “Next week we've got the Crown and Anchor. We're going to annihilate them!”

“Annihilate?” the Doctor repeated, rounding on him “No. No violence, do you understand me? Not while my Bonded’s around. Not today, not ever. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm… and you basically meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?”

“Yeah”, Sean replied bit confused by his response but Melanie giggled, amused by how he went from protective to calm in split second.

“Lovely. What sort of time?” the Doctor asked. Before Sean could answer, Craig opened up a can of drink and gets promptly sprayed with foam. His teammates laugh and then it happened again.

And again.

And again.

“Doctor what’s happening?” Melanie asked, eyeing the people stuck in the loop worriedly.

“It’s a time loop”, the Time Lord answered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from them and tapped his earpiece. “Amy?” he called.

“ _It's happening again. Worse”_ , the ginger replied.

“What does the scanner say?” the Doctor questioned.

“ _A lot of nines. Is it good that they're nines? Tell me it's good that they're all nines”_ , Amy replied.

“Yes, yes, it's…it's good!” Melanie arched a brow at his lie “Zigzag plotter. Zigzag plotter, Amy”. The brunette flinched hearing a loud bang come from the device followed by Amy’s screamed.

“That doesn’t sound good”, Melanie remarked, very concerned for her friend.

“Amy? Are you there?” the Doctor asked, loudly.

“ _Yes. Hello_ ”, Amy replied, breathlessly.

The Doctor relaxed as did Melanie “Oh, thank heavens. I thought for a moment the Tardis had been flung off into the vortex with you inside it, lost forever”, he said earning him a whack upside the head from his Bonded.

“Are you serious! Don’t joke about things like that!” she scolded.

“Sorry Elle”, he mumbled feeling bad for saying that as he could feel the fear from the brunette. He really needed to work on what was funny and what wasn’t. “How are the numbers?” he asked his companion.

“ _All fives_ ”, Amy reported.

“Fives”, the Doctor repeated “even better”.

“Looked like the time loop has broken”, Melanie remarked noticing that the Craig and his friends weren’t repeating the same action over and over again.

“That’s good also”, the Doctor said “now, come on. Got some rewiring to do”.

\---------------

 _“Didn’t know ‘rewiring’ was code for this”_ Melanie mentally commented to the Doctor as they made out on the bed. Not that she was complaining or anything, this was definitely more enjoyable than whatever the Doctor actually had planned.

 _“It wasn’t originally but I think it should be from now on”,_ the Doctor said, making a note to remember that for next time. As they continued to kiss, Melanie felt a surge of bravery.

“Can we stop for a moment?” she asked out loud, her heart hammering in her chest at what she was about to do.

“Are you ok?” the Doctor questioned, looking at her worriedly. She was anxious in both look and emotion.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine”, Melanie assured him “there’s just something I want to do and I want to do it before I chicken out”.

“Sure”, the Doctor said, moving off of her so she could sit up. The brunette took a breath to steady her nerves before she grasped her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She set it in her lap, twisting the fabric in her hands to give them something to do instead of covering up the scars on her now exposed skin.

The Time Lord looked over the marks that he had only caught a brief glimpse of before. The Doctor returned his gaze to her face “beautiful”, he declared and kissed her “my beautiful Elle”. Melanie relaxed at his compliment. She didn’t know why she was so afraid. He hadn’t been disgusted by her scars when he saw them the first time, why would this be any different?

Deciding that since his Bonded had taken off her top, he’d do the same. The Doctor quickly tugged off his bowtie and stripped off his shirt with such haste that he nearly ripped off some of the buttons. He went to kiss her again when he stopped. “One second”, he said, getting off the bed and scooping up the bowtie from where he’d dropped it. Melanie watched as he went over to the door, opened it up enough that he could wrap his bowtie around the handle. “So we’re not disturbed”, he explained to the young woman after he closed the door and crossed the room back to the bed.

“Good thinking”, Melanie agreed “we wouldn’t want that”.

The Doctor grinned “definitely not”, he said and kissed her again.

Now both were shirtless, things hotted up pretty quickly. The Time Lord took great care to give every scar on Melanie’s skin a loving kiss to show her that he loved her, all of her. The brunette by this point had her eyes closed letting out small noises of pleasure at the sensation of his lips on her body. It felt like small jolts of electricity from every kiss.

The Doctor moved back up to give her lips the same amount of attention as he’d been giving the rest of her. Melanie gasped into his mouth when his hand wandered up to her bra and dipped into the left cup. She moaned, arching her back, her hands even more tangled in his hair. _“Don’t stop”_ , she said, her mental voice came out as a moan as well as the Doctor began to play with her breast.

 _“Oh, I won’t”_ , the Time Lord said. As he continued his ministrations, he felt himself get hard. Melanie felt it press against her, filling her with a strange kind of warmth and desire.

“That’s not your sonic is it?” she asked, breaking the kiss.

“Nope”, the Doctor replied, withdrawing his hand from her bra “I took an important choice away from you before and I don’t want to do it again. So I have to ask: Elle can I _dance_ with you?”

“Yes you can”, she replied, softly “I’ve wanted to do it since the Dream Lord”, she admitted. The prospect of having a family with the Doctor had been on her mind after the Dream Lord had given her that ‘gift’ of what her life could’ve been like. And she wanted it. Not the house, the TARDIS was way better than some building that didn’t go anywhere. But the children for sure.

The Doctor grinned and crashed his lips against hers. “ _I love you_ ”, he said, in her mind.

“ _I love you too”_

\------------

The Doctor ran his fingers through Melanie’s hair, smiling down at his slumbering Bonded. Their first _dance_ and their Bond felt stronger than ever. He glanced at the pile of odds and ends in the corner of the room. He needed to get his scanner build AND do the rewiring too. The _actual_ rewiring this time and not some code in order to make out with his love. The Time Lord sighed and got out of bed, pulling his clothes back on. The sooner he got it done, the sooner he could get back to curling up with his Bonded and maybe just maybe having a little snooze. Deciding to do the rewiring first, the Doctor grabbed a random tool and left the room but not before giving Melanie a smile. He closed the door and headed to the living room.

It was twenty or so minutes later when he was back in the bedroom and started on his scanner. After an hour and several sore fingers, he had finished. “Finally”, he breathed, sitting back. Now he could do what he wanted, being in bed with his Bonded. The Doctor stripped off his clothes and slipped under the covers, curling up against Melanie.

It was a few hours later when the young woman stirred as did the Doctor who’d dozed off too. “Hey”, she murmured looking up at him with a smile.

“Hey batcha”, the Time Lord said “how are you feeling?”

“I feel fantastic”, Melanie answered “and…is it me or does the Bond feel stronger?”

“It’s not just you”, the Doctor replied “feels stronger to me too”.

The brunette then noticed the large device in the room. “I see you’ve done your doohicky”, she remarked “does it work?”

The Doctor shrugged “haven’t tried it out. I had other things on my mind”, he admitted, giving her a look that made her blush.

“Maybe you should try it out now?” Melanie suggested.

The Time Lord pouted “don’t wanna. Too comfy”, he mumbled, tightening his grip on her.

“We’ll have plenty of time to relax and cuddle and _dance_ later”, Melanie said “but right now we need to figure out whats going on with the man upstairs. And we need to do it fast before the TARIDS takes off into the time vortex with Amy”.

The Doctor sighed “Fine, lets turn it on”. With much reluctance he got out of bed, pulling on his underwear and trousers. Melanie joined him as well, snagging his shirt before he could put it on. The Time Lord didn’t mind as she looked pretty good in it. The Doctor set the device spinning.

“Is it giving you anything?” Melanie asked.

“Yeah but something is wrong”, the Doctor frowned “there’s no traces of higher technology upstairs. Its completely normal”.

“Guess we’ll have to go upstairs then and take a look”, Melanie remarked.

“I’m not about to walk in there completely blind, potentially endangering you”, the Doctor said firmly “I’ve let you get hurt too many times. It’s _not_ happening again” he tapped his ear piece “Amy, can you use the data bank and get plans of this building? I want to know its history, the layout, everything. Meanwhile, I shall recruit a spy”.

“What spy?” Melanie questioned “I didn’t thing you wanted anyone going up there”.

“No _person._ But a cat will be perfectly fine”, the Doctor explained.

“Well, while you’re doing that, I’m gonna go back to bed”, Melanie said, doing just that. 

\----------------

It turned out that the man upstairs was a hologram which had been attempting to launch the ship by luring people into the ‘flat’. With some quick thinking from the Doctor and a big admission from Craig about his love for Sophie, the day was saved!

“You know, I kinda liked staying there”, Melanie remarked as they walked toward the TARDIS “it was nice and relaxing. Except the killer hologram. Do you think we could get a little holiday home somewhere?" the Doctor stopped walking and looked at her "it's a dumb idea, forget it".

"No its not", the Time Lord said, softly "I think it's a great idea!"

A holiday home was a perfect reason to spend a few days of r and r. They would able to properly chill out and not have to worry about any emergency the TARDIS may alert him to. "Really?" Melanie asked, hopeful.

The Doctor smiled "Really", he confirmed. His bonded laughed when he scooped her up, bridal style “in fact you chose the location, and I’ll find you that holiday home”, he promised. Melanie beamed and kissed him.

“I love you”, she declared.

“I love you too”


	11. Rebooting the universe

Melanie groaned as she came to, her cheek throbbing. “Oh no”, she whispered, seeing that she was shut in the cupboard again “No. No. No!” she hammered on the door, crying out from the jarring pain in her left wrist. She whimpered, cradling it to her body as she used her other hand to hit the door. “Let me out! Let me out!” she pleaded “please Uncle! PLEASE!” 

No response.

Desperate, Melanie hit the door again, giving it a few kicks her good measure. Suddenly the door swung open and a hand grabbed her, dragging her out. “Shut up!” her uncle snapped, back handing her across the face. The young woman lay on the floor, trembling, tears rolling down her face. “Maybe I should just get rid of you”, the man said.

“No…please”, Melanie begged as he went for the knife in his pocket. She let out a scream, closing her eyes and throwing her hands up in an effort to protect herself when he raised the wicked looking blade. But the blow never came. Instead there was a loud thud. Melanie cautiously opened her eyes to see her uncle on floor just like she was, staring up at a ginger haired man, eyes wide with fear at the gun being pointed at him.

“River, get Elle out of here”, Orion ordered. A curly haired woman stepped into the room and went over to Melanie, holding her hand out.

“Come on, you’re not going to want to see this”, River said. The young woman didn’t hesitate to take the strange woman’s hand. Anything to get her away from that monster. River gently ushered her out of the house, sitting her down on the wall outside. “Sorry, sweetie”, she said apologetically when she made Melanie wince while wrapping up her wrist.

“It’s ok”, the brunette whispered “I just want out of this nightmare”, she sniffled.

“You will”, River assured her “with this”. She showed her an angel figurine with two hearts drawn on it. Melanie took it from her and the curly haired woman waited in anticipation. She didn’t have to wait very long as the brunette’s eyes widened and she gasped. River smiled, it was working! The Doctor’s Bonded was remembering.

_“You have your own angel to fight that demon”, Amy said handing it over. Melanie clutched it tightly in her hands “that angel will always watch over you and protect you from all the darkness, past, present and future”_

“Amy”, Melanie breathed, holding the figurine to her chest as more memories of her ginger haired friend flooded through her mind. Warmth blossomed in her chest “Doctor”, she laughed, delighted as she now remembered her Bonded.

_“It means you’re my Bonded”, he said carefully._

_Melanie looked at him confused “I’m your…what?”_

_“My Bonded. The one who completes me. My other half. The person I’m meant to be with”, the Doctor explained._

_“That sounds like a soulmate”, Melanie remarked._

_“That would be the closest thing in Earth terms, yes. When you feel that warmth in your chest and the tug of your heart when you’ve met someone that means they are your Bonded. As we both got that feeling when we met…”_

_“That’s how you knew that we were each other’s Bonded”, Melanie finished._

She then recalled their conversation about how they were not just connected by their minds and souls but through heart and body as well. Melanie’s face flushed as her brain then decided to remember the first time she and the Doctor _danced._ “I remember it all”, she stated, opening her eyes “You, the Doctor, Amy and…Rory!” she laughed again. It quickly died down when she realised the reason she had forgotten them all. The Doctor’s sacrifice to restart the universe. “He’s not coming back, is he?” she asked quietly.

“That’s up to you. On the Byzantium what did he tell you?” River questioned.

Melanie frowned “I don’t remember”, she replied. 

“Yes, you do. Just concentrate”, River gently urged “and it’ll come to you”.

Melanie closed her eyes again, clutching the angel figurine tightly.

_“Elle there is something really important I need to tell you” the Doctor said “You need to remember this” he leant forward and spoke quietly into her ear “remember the TARDIS. Remember how its big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient. It’s also the bluest blue ever”._

“River I remember!” the brunette exclaimed opening her eyes “River?” she called when the woman seemed to have disappeared. She wasn’t too upset though, she remembered what the Doctor had told her! Melanie hopped off the wall. “The TARDIS. Big and little! New and old! And very, very blue!” she proclaimed, dancing around on the spot “the most incredible box in the universe!”

She stopped dancing when she heard the most wonderful sound. The TARDIS engines. Melanie watched giddily as the ship slowly appeared before her eyes. “Elle!” the Doctor cried happily, after flinging the door open “My Elle!” he darted out, giving her a massive hug.

“Doctor”, Melanie said, pressing her face into his chest.

“What happened?” the Time Lord asked, pulling back, noticing the bruise on her face and her wrapped wrist “who did this?”

“ _He_ did”, Melanie mumbled, knowing that if she mentioned that monster, he was going to go Oncoming Storm. As expected, the Doctor’s face darkened.

“Where is he?” he asked, in almost a growl.

“I’ve dealt with him”, Orion said, coming out of the house “He’s not going to hurt you anymore”.

“Thank you, Orion”, Melanie whispered.

“You’re welcome. Now you two best be off, you got a wedding to get to”, Orion said.

“Quite right, lets go Elle”, the Doctor said, taking her uninjured hand and taking her into the TARDIS. The ginger haired man watched the ship disappear before he did the same.

\--------------

“Right first things first”, the Doctor said and carefully placed his hand on her cheek, using a little regeneration energy to heal it. He then did the same for her wrist. “Now for something more important”, the Time Lord cupped her face and kissed her.

“I missed that”, Melanie admitted.

“Me too”, the Doctor agreed, a caressing her cheek “do you wanna dance?” he murmured in her ear, making her shiver. In a good way.

“God yes”, Melanie replied. The Time Lord grinned, scooping her up and running toward their room.

\--------------

At the wedding reception, Amy stood up, heart drumming in her chest as she remembered not only the Doctor but her best friend as well! “Raggedy man, Elle I remember you both, and you are late for my wedding!” glasses began to shake “I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story the brand new, ancient blue box” a strong wind blows the balloons around “Oh, clever. Very clever”, a big smile appeared on her face.

“Amy, what is it?” Rory asked.

“Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue”, Amy breathed and the TARDIS appeared in the middle of the room. The ginger clambered over the table to get to the ship.

Rory’s eyes widened as he remembered the Time Lord and Melanie. “It's the Doctor and Elle!” he exclaimed “How did we forget them? I was plastic. She’s his Bonded. He was the stripper at my stag. Long story”.

Amy knocked on the door “Ok, Doctor. Did I surprise you this time?” she asked. The door opened and the Doctor appeared in a top hat and coattails.

“Er, yeah. Completely astonished”, the Doctor replied “Never expected that. How lucky I happened to be wearing this old thing”.

“He’s fibbing”, Melanie said, stepping up next to him, wearing a pale pink dress “he knew this was gonna happen. That’s why he’s wearing that get up”.

The Doctor sighed “Yeah, ok I did”, he confessed. He took off his white scarf, looping it around Melanie’s neck and stepped out of the box, bringing her with him “Hello, everyone. I'm Amy's imaginary friend. As is this lovely lady”, the Time Lord kissed her temple. He moved away from her to shake Amy’s father’s hand “Right then, everyone. I'll move my box. You're going to need the space. I only came for the dancing” he gave Melanie a wink and she blushed.

\-------------

Melanie laughed as she watched the Doctor dance about with the children, waving his arms about. “You’re so ridiculous!” she giggled.

The Time Lord grabbed her hand and spun her around “You love it really”, he said, holding her close.

“Maybe just a little”, she admitted. Melanie then joined him in his drunk giraffe dance with the kids. When the song turned into a slow, romantic one, the pair swayed on the spot together.

The Doctor glanced at Amy and Rory with a smile “Two thousand years. The boy who waited. Good on you, mate”, he softly remarked.

“Think that’ll be us one day?” Melanie asked, also watching them.

“Of course it will be, one day”, the Doctor promised. Technically being Bonded is like being married in a sense so the actual wedding would just be a formality but one he was quite happy to do. Melanie smiled and kissed him.

Later…

The Doctor and Melanie walked toward the TARDIS where it was parked by Amy’s house. As the Time Lord put the key into the lock, River spoke up behind them. “Did you dance?” she asked “Well, I bet Elle made you dance”.

“I didn’t have to, he was quite willing”, Melanie told her. The Doctor handed River her diary and vortex manipulator.

“The writing's all back, but I didn't peek”, he assured her.

“Thank you”, River said.

“River, you never did answer this but _who_ exactly are you?” the Doctor questioned.

“You're both going to find out very soon now”, River replied “And I'm sorry, but that's when everything changes”.

“What do you think that means?” Melanie queried after River vanished in a flash of light.

The Doctor shrugged “No clue but I guess we’ll find out, eventually”, he said. He unlocked the TARDIS and pushed the door open. The Time Lord took her hand and danced up to the console. Melanie laughed when he dipped her. “You wanna find that holiday home?” he asked, pulling her up.

“Sure!” Melanie replied.

“Oi! Where are you two off to?” Amy questioned, coming into the TARDIS with Rory.

“Sorry, you two. Shouldn't have slipped away. Bit busy, you know?” the Doctor answered.

“You just saved the whole of space and time? Take the evening off. Maybe a bit of tomorrow”, Rory suggested “you and Elle could go on a date or a holiday or something?”

“That’s what we were about to do”, Melanie told him.

“Actually…it might have to wait”, the Doctor mumbled. As much as he wanted to have some r and r with his Bonded, there was still the matter of the Silence and the TARDIS exploding.

“What? Why?” Melanie questioned, confused.

“Space and time isn't safe yet”, he answered “The TARDIS exploded for a reason. Something drew the TARDIS to this particular date, and blew it up. Why? And why now?” the phone on the console started ringing “The Silence, whatever it is, is still out there, and I have to…. excuse me a moment” he picked up the phone “Hello? Oh, hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad line. No, no, no, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the seventh Obelisk. I was at the prayer meeting. Well, no, I get that it's important. An Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express, in space. Give us a mo” he glanced at Amy and Rory “Sorry, something's come up. This will have to be goodbye”.

Amy nodded “Yeah, I think it's goodbye. Do you think it's goodbye Rory?”

“Definitely goodbye”, he confirmed. Melanie smiled as she went to the open doorway and shouted

“Goodbye! Goodbye”

The Doctor smiled as well “Don't worry about a thing, your Majesty. We're on our way”, he assured the person on the other end.


End file.
